Pahalgam terror attack: Siddaramaiah announces Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia to victims hailing from Karnataka

Earlier in the day, he also spoke to the families of those killed in the terrorist attack, over the phone and expressed his condolences.

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of Karnataka residents who were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack.

Three residents of Karnataka were among 28 people -- mostly tourists -- killed in the terror attack on Tuesday afternoon at Baisaran in Pahalgam hill station of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Strongly condemning the terror attack, Siddaramaiah said he deployed a team of officials, including Labour Minister Santosh Lad, to ensure the safe return of Kannadigas. “We wanted to bring back the bodies on special flights. But the union government has already arranged flights for this,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam was due to “intelligence failure” of the union government. “I think there’s an intelligence failure on the part of the union government. Earlier, there was an attack in Pulwama. Now, this happened. So, I see the union government’s failure,” he said.

The CM had a phone call with Pallavi, wife of Manjunath (Shivamogga) and Sujata, wife of Bharat Bhushan (Bengaluru), who were killed by terrorists.

During the day, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar also had a phone call with Manjunath’s brother-in-law Dr Ravikiran and offered condolences. “The government is with you in this difficult time and we share your sorrow. We will extend all support needed. Be brave,” Shivakumar said during the call.