Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday alleged that the central government did not permit her to travel to Kuwait to coordinate assistance for Indian nationals from the state affected by the tragic fire incident in the Gulf country’s southern city of Mangaf.
An uneasy silence hung over the import cargo terminal of the airport in Kochi on Friday morning as authorities made arrangements to receive the bodies of the 45 Indians who lost their lives in the building fire in Kuwait on Wednesday. Ambulances were stationed at the terminal to carry the victims’ bodies to their homes.
A special Indian Air Force aircraft, C-130J, carrying the mortal remains of the 45 Indian victims, landed in Kochi on Friday morning. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who arrived in Kuwait on Friday morning and coordinated with Kuwaiti authorities to ensure swift repatriation, was also onboard the aircraft, according to the Indian embassy.
“It is very unfortunate that we did not get the consent to travel to Kuwait. More than half of the people who died were from Kerala. The majority of the people who are under treatment are also from Kerala,” Veena George told reporters at Cochin International Airport.
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The Kerala government had convened an emergency Cabinet meeting on Thursday and announced that Veena George, along with State Mission Director (NHM) Jeevan Babu, would urgently travel to Kuwait to coordinate efforts related to the treatment of those from the state who sustained injuries as well as oversee the repatriation of the bodies of the deceased. The victims include 24 individuals from Kerala.
“The embassy did not give us the exact data on the number of seriously injured people. The data that we have collected indicates that a total of seven people have been admitted to the hospital, and four of them are from Kerala, but this is not officially declared. The purpose of my visit to Kuwait was to be with the injured and bring their needs to the attention of the central government,” George explained to reporters.
Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi on Friday praised the Ministry of External Affairs for its “wonderful” job in coordinating the efforts to ensure the treatment of the Indians injured in the Kuwait fire tragedy. The Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum also said he had canceled his other programs for the day to go to the international airport to receive the bodies of the Malayalees who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy.
Meanwhile, Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters that the bodies of 23 Malayalees, seven Tamilians, and one person from Karnataka would be received in Kochi before the flight carrying the mortal remains of the other Indians who died in the fire continued to Delhi.
