Kerala Health Minister Veena George Alleges Centre Denied Her Permission To Visit Kuwait

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday alleged that she was denied permission to visit the victims of the tragic Kuwait fire in the Gulf country due to alleged restrictions placed by the Centre.

An Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft transported the 45 victims' bodies to Kochi, where they were received with solemn arrangements at the airport. Ambulances stood ready to transport the deceased to their homes.

"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 the Cochin International Airport.

The Kerala government had called for an emergency cabinet meet on Thursday where it announced that Health Minister Veena George along with State Mission Director Jeevan Babu, will urgently travel to the Gulf nation to coordinate the medical facilities provided to the victims as well as oversee the repatriation of the mortal remains of the Malayalees who died in the tragic incident.

"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.

Meanwhile, MoS Suresh Gopi praised the External Affairs Ministry's handling of the crisis, particularly in facilitating medical treatment for the injured and bringing back the deceased.

Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan provided details on the victims, confirming that the majority were Malayalees, with some from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

(With agency inputs)