Kerala Assembly pays tribute to Turkey earthquake victims, announce aid

Expressing solidarity with the earthquake-hit people of Turkiye and Syria, the Kerala govt announced Rs 10 crore assistance on Wednesday

Expressing solidarity with the earthquake-hit people of Turkiye and Syria, the Kerala government announced Rs 10 crore assistance on Wednesday. The announcement was made by State Finance Minister K N Balagopal in the state assembly while giving reply to a debate on the budget presented last week. Announcing the assistance, the minister said it was the central government which should dispatch the aid to the affected countries. Earlier in the day, the House paid homage to the people who had lost their lives following the recent massive earthquake. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while presenting a resolution paying tribute to the victims, termed the natural disaster as an "unparalleled tragedy" and said the February 6 earthquake had shocked the consciousness of the world. "Thousands of precious lives were lost due to the earthquake. There was also massive destruction. Our country also experienced natural calamities in the past," he said. Wherever such tragedies happen, the hardships being faced by people make us deeply sad, he said adding that it is time for carrying out as many relief measures as possible to extend a helping hand to the quake-hit countries. Noting that India has already made preparations to provide emergency disaster relief operations and medical aid to the affected areas of Turkiye and Syria, he said Kerala is also ready to provide all possible assistance in this regard. He stressed the need for our country to join hands with the rest of the world to restore the devastated land and its people to their normal state. "The House is paying tribute to those who had lost their lives in the natural disaster...we share the grief of their family members," the CM added. The earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on Monday killed more than 7,000 people and flattened thousands of buildings in Turkiye and neighbouring Syria.

Its epicentre was in Turkiye's southeastern province of Kahramanmaras and was felt as far away as Cairo (Egypt). India has dispatched humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to Turkiye.