Lanka terror: Grief-stricken kin waiting to bring remains home
Bengaluru, Apr 23: Yet to come to grips with the loss of their dear ones, shattered kith and kin of those killed in the devastating serial blasts in Sri Lanka are now faced with the problem of bringing the dismembered bodies home which, according to a relative, have started decomposing.
Family members are anxiously waiting for the bodies to take them back to India and perform the last rites, said a relative of a JDS worker killed in the blast that ripped through Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo on Easter Sunday.
S Shivakumar, who is in Sri Lanka, told PTI over phone Tuesday that the autopsy on his relative H Shivakumar's body has been completed but the problem was to fly it to India.
"The body is dismembered. There is no storage facility here. It is decaying fast. We have to bring it to Bengaluru.
There are eight bodies here:
They (Sri Lankan authorities) told us that three bodies could be flown today and rest will be flown tomorrow," a distraught Shivakumar said.
As many as 321 people were killed in a chain of blasts that ripped through churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on April 21.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the terror strike, the deadliest to shake the island nation since the end of the country's civil war in 2009 after the defeat of the LTTE.
From India, Karnataka bore the brunt of the mayhem as 10 deceased are from the state, including eight JDS workers.
The victims are: Ramesh, K M Lakshminarayan, M Rangappa, K G Hanumantharayappa, H Shivakumar, Narayan Chandrashekar, A Mare Gowda, H Puttaraju, Shettypalya R Nagaraj and Razeena Khader Kukkady, according to information from the state government.
Barring Nagaraj and Kukkady, the others were JD(S) workers.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy gave the name of the JD(S) workers in a tweet.
The Karnataka government too has intensified efforts to bring the bodies back home.
A senior IAS officer told PTI that the body of Shettypalya Nagaraj will be flown to India tonight.
"As per our information, which we have received from the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, they are coordinating everything.
One body will be coming today that of Shettypalya Nagaraj at 8.20 pm by Sri Lankan Airlines," principal secretary in the department of personnel and administrative reforms, Parvez Anjum, said.
Anjum has been appointed by the State government as the nodal officer to coordinate with the Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka to bring the bodies to Bengaluru.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
West Asia conflict: Modi calls ministerial meeting to review energy situation
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting Sunday evening with senior ministers to review to take stock of petroleum, power, and fertiliser sectors in view of the evolving West Asia situation, sources have said.
The focus of the meeting is to ensure uninterrupted supply, stable logistics and efficient distribution across the country, and the government is taking proactive steps to this end, they said.
Continuous monitoring of global developments to protect consumer and industry interests is the key focus of the government, they said.
On March 12, Modi said that the war in West Asia has triggered a worldwide energy crisis, posing a critical test of national character that requires dealing with circumstances through peace, patience, and increased public awareness.
The prime minister emphasised that his government is working relentlessly to address disruptions that have emerged in international supply chains.
"Continuous efforts are also underway to determine how we can overcome the disruptions that have occurred in the supply chain," Modi said.
The prime minister has spoken to many global leaders since the West Asia conflict started on February 28, with the US and Israel attacking Iran.
Iran has retaliated by attacking Israel and several of its Gulf neighbours.
Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route through which 20 per cent of the world's energy is transported. Since the conflict, very few ships have been allowed by Iran to cross it.
The blockade has resulted in severe disruptions in energy supply to many countries, including India.
Since the conflict, Modi has had telephonic conversations with leaders from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, France, Malaysia, Israel and Iran.
