"Unfortunate" Kerala Health Minister Veena George says Centre did not give permission to go to Kuwait, oversee relief ops

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday said that the Union government's refusal to grant her permission to travel to Kuwait to coordinate relief efforts for Keralites affected by a tragic fire incident was very unfortunate. She also said that the Indian Embassy in Kuwait did not give the Kerala government the exact data on the number of seriously injured people.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday said that it was "unfortunate" that the Central government did not permit her to travel to Kuwait to coordinate in assistance for the people from the State affected in the tragic fire mishap in the Gulf country. "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.." George told reporters at the Cochin International Airport here today.

The Kerala State government had convened an emergency Cabinet meeting on Thursday and announced that 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. A massive fire erupted in a six-storied building in Mangaf city in Kuwait on Wednesday, killing at least 48 people. Out of the 176 Indian workers in the housing facility, 45 died and 33 are hospitalized, the Indian embassy said.

The victims include 23 from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, three from Uttar Pradesh, two from Odisha, and one each from Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Haryana. "The Embassy did not give us the exact data on the number of seriously injured people. The data that we have collected from there is that a total of 7 people have been admitted to the hospital and 4 of them are from Kerala, but this is not officially declared. The purpose of my visit (to Kuwait) was that I wanted to be with the injured and bring their needs to the attention of the Central Government," George said today.

A special Indian Air Force aircraft carrying mortal remains of 45 Indian victims that took off from Kuwait is expected to land here on Friday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his deepest condolences and assured all possible assistance to those impacted by the tragedy.

Minister of State for External Affairs of India, Kirti Vardhan Singh who reached Kuwati on Thursday visited hospitals where the injured were admitted and interacted with Indian nationals undergoing treatment following the tragic fire incident in Mangaf. (ANI)

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