Kolkata: An Air India flight scheduled to operate from Ahmedabad to London crashed on June 12 shortly after it took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had 242 people on board, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. It departed from Ahmedabad airport at 1.17 pm and was scheduled to arrive in London at 6.09 pm. However, it went down moments after take-off, crashing into a densely populated neighbourhood close to the airport.
Air India announced an interim payment of Rs 25 lakh to the families of each victim and the lone survivor. It followed the commitment of Rs 1 crore per family from Tata Sons, the parent company. This dual compensation package aims to provide immediate financial support to those affected by the devastating loss. The devastating Air India crash has brought back memories of the 1988 Ahmedabad air tragedy.
What happened in the 1988 tragedy?
On October 19, 1988, Indian Airlines Flight 113 was a flight operating from Mumbai to Ahmedabad that crashed on its final approach to Ahmedabad Airport. The tragedy killed 133 of the 135 people on board and was the deadliest crash in the Indian aviation sector till then. Following the incident, the families of the deceased were offered a compensation of Rs 2 lakh.
Why did the families move to the Supreme Court?
According to a report by The Times of India, today, around 20 families in Ahmedabad are locked in a legal battle with authorities over the compensation, which they deem to be inadequate. Pankesh Patel, secretary of the association formed by families reportedly said, “We are around 20 families that are still fighting a legal battle for fair compensation. After the tragedy, the authorities announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh per victim. We believe the compensation should be based on the income and age of the victims. So, after the HC order, we moved the Supreme Court in April 2010 for higher compensation.”
The report refers to the case details, which state that the sessions court, in 2003, directed Indian Airlines (IA) and the Airport Authority of India to pay the petitioner families a six per cent interest on the compensation amount. The high court, in 2009, raised the interest to nine per cent, but the Air Crash Claimants’ Association comprised of 20 families moved to the Supreme Court in 2010 demanding ‘fair compensation’.
The report quotes the relatives of victims like Ushaben Patel (74), who lost her husband Sharad Patel, a chartered accountant and a German company’s finance director, or Reetaben Shah (74), who lost her husband Sunil Shah, an IIM-A graduate. The victims rued the compensation amount offered to them, called it inadequate and moved to the Supreme Court as a result.
The families have created the Kotarpur crash site, and the Shantivan, a memorial garden featuring 133 trees, a tribute to the 133 victims of the accident. Around 37 years later, the families, after braving grief and emotional wounds, are fighting another battle for fairness.
