By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi : The defence ministry asked the Kerala government for Rs.45 lakh for a military aircraft to transport the bodies of the people who had died in the Thekkady boat capsize, a senior Kerala minister said Friday.
The state government, however, rejected the demand and instead chartered two planes from a private airline to take the bodies to different places, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, and spent less than Rs.25 lakh.
“We requested the defence ministry to provide a military aircraft to transport the victims’ bodies and survivors to different parts of the country. They demanded Rs.45 lakh as rent. They also said the aircraft could not be used for civilian purposes,” the minister told IANS on the condition of anonymity.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has also criticised the central government for not providing a military aircraft to transport the bodies of the victims of the Thekkady boat tragedy.
Sources said Achuthanandan was negotiating with Defence Minister and former Kerala chief minister A.K. Antony on the issue.
“After the talks between the chief minister and defence minister, our chief secretary contacted senior officials in the defence ministry. They informed us that a flight, which is being used for these kind of purposes, is in Chandigarh and it will take eight hours to reach Kochi,” the minister told IANS.
“We contacted Kingfisher Airlines and transported bodies and survivors to different locations in two aircraft. They demanded Rs.400,000 per hour and the total cost is less than Rs.25 lakh.”
He disclosed that officials at the air force base in Coimbatore were willing to provide one of their aircraft but did not get official sanction from the headquarters in New Delhi.
Kerala’s Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who supervised the loading of the bodies into the planes at Kochi, confirmed that the state government had requested the defence ministry for an aircraft but it was turned down.
“Since that did not happen, we decided to charter an aircraft to transport the dead bodies. The entire cost will be borne by us,” Balakrishnan told reporters.
According to the officials, the 41 people who died in the tragedy at the Periyar wildlife sanctuary Wednesday evening included 12 each from New Delhi and Tamil Nadu, five each from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, three each from Karnataka and Kerala and one from Mumbai.