Necessary precautions must be taken to prevent recurrence of Kuwait fire tragedy: Kerala CM Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said that all necessary precautions should be taken to ensure that something like the Kuwait fire tragedy does not recur, and expressed hope that the Gulf nation will take action against those responsible for the incident.

Vijayan, speaking during the fourth edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha held here, said that the Kuwaiti government acted in an appropriate manner in the wake of the tragic incident. He hoped that there would be effective intervention on their part to find out why it happened.

If the incident was due to the failure to adhere to precautionary norms, then we hope that the Kuwaiti government will take action against those responsible, the CM said.

"The initial steps taken by them (Kuwaiti government) indicates that they will follow up on this matter seriously," he said.

The three-day long Loka Kerala Sabha, initially scheduled to begin on June 13, was cut short to two days following the Kuwait fire tragedy.

The event, which saw the participation of representatives from 103 countries, was inaugurated only on Friday afternoon as the chief minister and other ministers had gone to Kochi in the morning to receive the mortal remains of 31 Indians, including 23 Keralites, who died in the incident on June 12.

Referring to the events at the airport in the morning, Vijayan said, "What we saw today while paying tributes to the deceased still troubles our minds. It was the cry of a father who lost his son... There were many other such stories."

The Marxist veteran said that whatever compensation is given to the bereaved families, it would never be able to replace the loss of a loved one. Nevertheless, sufficient financial assistance has to be given to them, he said.

"We have to ensure that. We hope the Kuwaiti government will take steps for that. The Indian government should get in touch with them to expedite the same.

"Along with that, any organisation that is obligated to provide compensation to the victims' families should be made to pay it. The Kuwaiti government should ensure that and, for that, there should be timely interventions from the Government of India," Vijayan said.

He also raised the issue of the denial of political clearance to state Health Minister Veena George to travel to Kuwait for helping with the coordination of relief efforts, saying that in such situations both the Centre and the state government should work together with the same mindset.

"Not doing so in such situations is inappropriate," he added.