Kasaragod MP-elect and Congress leader Rajmohan Unnithan has urged the Union government to provide a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to each family of the 45 Indians who tragically died in a fire accident in Kuwait fire accident:. He also called for the Kerala government to adjust the compensation based on the financial situations of the affected families. Unnithan highlighted that MPs from Kerala plan to collectively meet the Prime Minister to advocate for increased compensation. If necessary, they will also seek an audience with President Droupadi Murmu.
Kollam MP-elect N K Premachandran echoed these sentiments, stating that the compensation amounts suggested by both the Union and State governments are insufficient. He advocated for a special package to be announced for the dependents of the deceased and for non-resident Indians affected by the tragedy.
On Friday, June 14, a transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force brought back to India the mortal remains of 45 Indians who had perished. Among them, 24 were Malayalis. Tragically, the fire accident at the labor accommodation of Naser M Al Baddah & Partner General Trading & Contracting Company (NBTC), a prominent construction company in Kuwait, claimed the lives of two individuals from Kasaragod: K R Ranjith, aged 33, and Kelu Ponmaleri, aged 58.
Rajmohan Unnithan pressed for a higher compensation after calling on the family of K R Ranjith (33), a native of Chengala in Kasaragod district. His body reached his small village called Kundadukkam in Chengala panchayat from Kochi airport around 8.30 pm. Around 1,500 people were waiting to bid him bye. The body was kept in front of his neighbour Sasikumar E’s house for the people to pay their last respects because his own small house built last year did not have the space to accommodate such a huge crowd. Ranjith, who worked as an accountant for NBTC Group, was supposed to have come on leave during this Onam vacation, said his neighbours. “His family had planned to get him married this time,” said a neighbour. Around 10 pm, Ranjith’s body was taken to his house for cremation.
Kunhikelu Ponmaleri (58), a production engineer with NBTC Group in Kuwait, was set to retire in December, marking the end of his two-decade career in the Gulf. During his holiday visit home last September, his wife K N Mani—a clerk at Pilicode grama panchayat office—and their two sons, K N Rishikesh and Dev Kiran, encouraged him to retire. However, Kunhikelu requested to extend his tenure by one more year. Tragically, a fire at his accommodation in Kuwait thwarted the family’s plans.
At approximately 7:30 pm on Friday, his mortal remains arrived at Kalikkadavu, situated on the border of Kasaragod and Kannur districts. Given that his birthplace, Eravil in Pilicode panchayat, is just 500 meters from Kalikkadavu, the body was kept there for the public to pay their last respects. Around 1,000 people from Karivellur panchayat in Kannur district to Cheruvathur panchayat in Kasaragod district gathered to honor him. After more than an hour, the body was moved to Thekkumbad in Trikaripur panchayat, where Kunhikelu and his wife Mani had recently purchased a new house. Following another hour, the body was taken to the community crematorium at Annur in Pilicode for final rites.
Compensation Not Enough (Kuwait fire accident)
Ranjith’s cousin, Pavithran M K, expressed his family’s dissatisfaction with the compensation announced by the government and the NBTC Group for dependents of those who died in the fire accident. The Union government declared a compensation of Rs 2 lakh, and the state government announced Rs 5 lakh. “Our state’s economy heavily relies on remittances from NRIs, yet when something happens to us, we are left to fend for ourselves. Even dependents of those killed by wild animals receive more compensation,” Pavithran remarked. He also criticized NBTC Group for offering what he called “a low ex-gratia of Rs 8 lakh” for each dependent of the deceased. Kuwait fire accident update.
Jahirul Islam with over 10 years of experience in the field of journalism, Jahirul Islam heads the editorial operation of the Genycourse.net.