Indian community expresses gratitude to HH Amir for generous gesture

On the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti government has decided to award USD15,000 as an ex-gratia payment to the next of kin of each of the victims of the recent fatal fire at the Mangaf apartment block.

The government will forward the payment to the respective embassies in Kuwait of the deceased, in order to ensure the funds are promptly and securely disbursed to families of the victims.

The generous humanitarian gesture on the part of His Highness the Amir was warmly welcomed by the Indian community in Kuwait, as well as by relatives of the victims back in India.

The gracious and compassionate gesture by His Highness the Amir underlines the leadership’s abiding concern for the welfare of all citizens and residents in Kuwait, and once again burnishes the country’s humanitarian credentials as a ‘global center of humanitarian deeds’, which it earned in 2014 from the UN General Assembly.

On a separate but related note, in the wake of the disastrous Mangaf fire that claimed the lives of 50 foreign workers, the government has emphasized that enforcement of housing regulations will be implemented strictly in future, in order to avoid a repeat of the fatal mishap that occurred on 12 June.

Owners of buildings, and company management violating building regulations and leasing contracts in providing residences that are deemed a health and safety risk to employees will be penalized. Moreover, workers found to be in violation of terms regulating their stay in the building will be summarily deported within days.