Kerala Transport Minister announces ₹10-lakh solatium

₹2 lakh will be provided as immediate relief, followed by a 2nd instalment of ₹8 lakh

Kerala Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar at the Tiruppur Government Hospital on Thursday. M. PERIASAMY

Kerala Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran has announced a solatium of ₹10 lakh each to the kin of the victims of Thursday’s accident in Tiruppur.

The Minister, who visited the Tiruppur Government Hospital where the bodies of the deceased were kept, said ₹2 lakh will be provided as an immediate relief, followed by a second instalment of ₹8 lakh. The Kerala government will offer ₹30 lakh from the KSRTC’s insurance scheme to the families of the two KSRTC employees – driver Gireesh and driver-cum-conductor Baiju — who were among the casualties.

Kerala Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar said the bodies will be handed over to the families concerned following autopsies at the Tiruppur Government Hospital. He commended the efforts made by the police and the Tiruppur district administration in the wake of the accident. All the injured who were admitted to various hospitals in Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts will be closely monitored, Mr. Kumar said while addressing the media.

Palakkad Collector D. Balamurali, Palakkad Superintendent of Police G. Siva Vikram and Coimbatore MP P.R. Natarajan visited the Tiruppur Government Hospital on Thursday. Hospital Dean A. Nirmala told

The Hindu that six doctors were involved in carrying out the autopsies. Nearly two dozen ambulances were made available at the hospital. Autopsies on all the 19 deceased were completed on Thursday evening, and the bodies were handed over to the respective families, Dr. Nirmala added.