Mysuru (Karnataka) [India], September 13 (ANI): Amid demands to raise the compensation amount for the families of the victims of the lorry crash in Hassan, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah justified the ex-gratia Rs 5 lakh and said that the compensation is being given to console the families of the deceased.
Speaking to the media at the Mysuru airport on Saturday, the Chief Minister responded to the BJP demand to increase the compensation to Rs 10 lakh.
He said, Providing compensation to the families of the deceased in the event of an accident is not equivalent to compensating for the loss of life. Compensation is provided to the families of the deceased to console them and with the intention that the families who have lost their loved ones do not face financial difficulties in the initial days.
CM Siddaramaiah added that he instructed the Minister in charge of Hassan Krishna Byre Gowda to meet the families of the deceased.
The government has implemented road safety laws and taken safety measures. The accident occurred due to the driver fault. So how can the government be held responsible for it? I have instructed the Minister in charge of Hassan, Krishna Byre Gowda, to meet the relatives of the deceased, console them, and announce compensation. Compensation is being provided because the families of the deceased are economically backward, he said.
I pray that God grants the families of the deceased the strength to bear the sorrow of death, the CM added.
He said that the compensation is being given as the victims are economically backward. The deceased were mostly labourers and students, so the Chief Minister, answering a question from reporters, said that the government has provided more compensation. He said that the compensation has been given because the families of the deceased are economically backward.
On Friday, between 8:00 pm and 8:45 pm, a tanker lorry was found to have driven recklessly into a Ganpati immersion procession in Mosale Hosalli. Nine people died in this incident, and the driver was also injured. Six villagers and three engineering students have died, according to Inspector General of Police Boralingaiah.
Siddaramaiah had announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased.
Sharing an X post, he wrote, It is deeply saddening to learn news of several people losing their lives and over 20 others seriously injured when a lorry collided with a procession heading for Ganesh immersion in Hassan. I pray that the souls of the deceased find peace and that the injured recover as quickly as possible. On behalf of the government, a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each will be provided to the families of the deceased. The government will also bear the medical expenses for the treatment of those injured in the incident. This is a profoundly painful moment. Let us all stand with the families affected by this tragedy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the death of nine people, and announced Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 ex-gratia for the injured from the Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF), according to the PM office.
The mishap in Hassan, Karnataka, is heart-rending. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those who have been injured recover at the earliest, the PMO said in a post on X.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000, the X post read. (ANI)
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