Compensation distribution to be a tedious task

Arjun Raghunath
The New Indian Express
17 Jan 2011

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the Thekkady boat tragedy, it’s going to be another tiresome task for the Idukki district administration to distribute the solatium announced by the Kerala Government to the dependents of the deceased in the Pulmedu tragedy as a majority of the victims are from other states.
In the Thekkady mishap that occurred in September 30, 2009, except for three, all the other 42 persons who died were from other states.
However, even after a year and three months the solatium to the dependents of about 10 people hailing from other states is yet to be given.
Claims made by more than one person as legal heir of a person as well as failure to produce the required documents to prove it are said to be the reasons for the non-payment of solatium.
“This time also we expect a similar situation as a majority of the victims are from other states,” Idukki District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh told Express.
“Differences exist in legal heirship certificates issued by various states. While it is the Revenue Department that issues the legal heirship certificate in Kerala, the case is not so in some districts. Moreover, there may be cases of more than one person staking claim for the solatium of one victim. In such cases, the court will have to decide who is the legal heir,” Ashok Kumar Singh said. Among the 102 Sabarimala pilgrims killed in the tragedy, 38 were from Tamil Nadu, 33 from Karnataka, 20 from Andhra Pradesh and three from Kerala.
Eight bodies are still to be identified. The state government has announced a solatium of `5 lakh each to the dependents of each deceased person.