Kerala: ‘No disparity in compensation for landslide and air crash victims’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Saturday refuted the charges that his government showed partiality by sanctioning Rs 5 lakh to the families of those deceased in landslide in Idukki and Rs 10 lakh to the kin of air passengers who lost their lives in the air crash at Karipur airport.
Fielding a question in this regard, CM told media that the two accidents were of different nature and they demanded a marked difference in government’s approach to both catastrophes.
“The landslide issue in Rajamala requires prolonged attention and additional resources. Even the rescue operation there is not yet over. The compensation now announced is only part of the initiatives being taken by the government to support the people affected by the natural calamity. Government would continue to support them in every possible way in the coming days. Whereas, in Karipur, the rescue operation was over on Friday itself. Government would provide treatment to all those who suffered injuries in the accident. But it doesn’t require the kind of follow up steps as in the case of the landslide in Rajamala,” he said.
CM said the government was hopeful that the Union government would be providing further financial assistance to the families of those killed in the accident and those who sustained serious injuries in the mishap. CM said the agencies under the Union government must look into the details of the reasons for such accidents, including the complaints come up from several quarters regarding the problems associated with the tabletop airport. “The government had already taken steps for acquiring more land to improve the facilities at the airport,” he said.