Karnataka govt to come up with action plan: Deputy CM after 14 killed in fire mishap

BENGALURU: Terming it a "grave incident", Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar said the government is going to come up with an action plan a day after 14 people were killed in a fire mishap in Karnataka's Attibele.

After visiting the accident site on Sunday D K Shivakumar told reporters that the government has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of each victim.

He further said that the government will bear the expenditure of the injured people. "...It is a grave incident... We are going to come up with a plan of action, we have to take within two to three days... We have already announced Rs 5 lakhs for those who died, and hospital expenditures will be taken care of..."

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the fire accident, admitting there was negligence on the part of the shop owner who is now in police custody. "We don't know what exactly happened, however, we got to know that there was no safety measurement (in the shop).

The license was renewed recently. No fire extinguisher was found in the shop. It is a total negligence of the Shop owner. so I am giving the investigation into the incident to CID," Siddaramaiah told reporters after visiting the accident site.

He said that some bodies of the deceased have yet to be identified. "Fourteen people have died (in the incident) and all are from Tamil Nadu, most of them are students. They are working here to earn money for their education," CM Siddaramaiah said. According to the damage assessment done by the officials, seven two-wheelers, a container lorry, and three other vehicles were gutted in the fire.