Indian victims of Dubai warehouse fire file petition with Kerala High Court

Dubai: Indian expats who lost their life’s possessions due to a fire at a warehouse in Dubai have filed a plea with the High Court of Kerala seeking legal assistance to recover their dues.

The petitioners claim they have lost hundreds of thousands of dirhams worth of belongings assigned to the cargo firm to ship them to Kerala from UAE as they were all heading to the subcontinent for good. Most of them had lost their jobs and had sent their families back home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to a writ petition, a bench of the court, presided by Justice P.V. Asha, issued a notice, asking relevant authorities to consider the grievances of the petitioners and to provide free legal aid to initiate legal action for compensation.

According to the plea, a copy of which is with Gulf News, the petitioners claimed they lost their livelihood during the pandemic and paid thousands of dirhams to the cargo company to ship their belongings to Kerala. While the people returned home, their belongings — which they had accumulated through years — had still not reached them.

The petitioners, on knowing their goods and valuable possessions were ruined in the fire, sent representations to the Principal Secretary, NORKA (the organisation looking after the affairs of non-resident Keralites), who in turn forwarded the representation to the Ambassador, Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi in October last year.

Roji Kurian, 43, who has a business in Dubai, said he too lost a music system, and all the furniture that he had bought over 15 years of his life in the country. “It is unfair. I hope we do get compensation soon. Tens of thousands of dirhams has been lost.”

About the Writ Petition