Kuwait Fire Accident: Veena George Says Centre Refused To Let Her Go For Mangaf Relief Work, Cong Backs Left

The Kerala state government had planned to send George to assist with relief operations including medical treatment for the injured and the repatriation of the deceased.

Reports indicate that George waited for hours at the airport anticipating approval from the Ministry of External Affairs which ultimately did not materialize.

Source : Facebook/VeenaGeorge

Kerala Health Minister Veena George alleged that the Union government denied her permission to travel to Kuwait where she intended to coordinate relief efforts for Keralites affected by the recent tragic fire incident. The fire, which occurred in southern Kuwait's Mangaf, claimed the lives of at least 49 migrant workers and injured 50 others.

On Thursday night, George expressed her disappointment over the decision and stated as per PTI, "What we just sought from the Central government was the permission to travel to Kuwait to stand with our people affected by the tragedy and coordinate activities there. That permission is denied."

The Kerala state government had planned to send George to assist with relief operations, including medical treatment for the injured and the repatriation of the deceased. Reports indicate that George waited for hours at the airport, anticipating approval from the Ministry of External Affairs, which ultimately did not materialize.

Opposition Condemns Centre's Decision

The opposition Congress party in Kerala strongly criticised the Centre's decision to not let Veena travel to Kuwait. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, V D Satheesan, described the denial as "unfortunate" and emphasized the potential benefits of having a state representative on the ground in Kuwait. "A representative of the state government would have helped to better coordinate the relief efforts. The state's representative would also have been able to help the Union government carry out the relief efforts. The Central government ought to have immediately given clearance to the state health minister. It was a wrong message from the Centre's side," he asserted, as per the report.

The fire incident has drawn widespread attention, particularly due to the significant number of Indian nationals involved. Out of the 45 Indians who died, 23 were from Kerala.