New Delhi, Aug 16 : The Centre on Thursday announced a seven-day national mourning and state funeral for the late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who will be cremated at Smriti Sthal on the banks of river Yamuna on Friday.

The national flag will be flown at half mast throughout India and Indian missions abroad between August 16 and 22 -- the period of national mourning.

These decisions were taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As a mark of respect to the departed soul, the Central government offices will be closed for half day on Friday afternoon in Delhi and across the country, along with the Central Public Sector Undertakings.

The Delhi government offices will also remain closed.

The Cabinet also decided that there will be no official entertainment during the entire period of state mourning.





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Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.

The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).

"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.

The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.

The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.

They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.

Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.