Lives of Air India Express Mangalore crash survivors, relatives yet to take off

Mangalore: “You don’t know what it is like to lose the family’s breadwinner, the person who took care of every need, big or small. Moreover, the void their absence has created in our lives cannot be filled in one lifetime.” These are the words of 60-year-old Mehrunnisa, whose son and daughter-in-were passengers who died in the Air India Express IX-812 crash last year.
Crying throughout the first anniversary condolence meeting held in Mangalore by the bereaved families on Saturday, Mehrunnisa, a widow, said she is all alone since all her family members are dead.
The occasion on Saturday was grim and solemn, with children clasping the hands of their grandparents and parents who have lost their children being helped by their neighbours to reach the prayer meeting.
Mumtaz Begum, a young widow, said: “My parents are dead, and now my husband is also gone. I have to fend for my old in-laws now. I have spent the ¤2 lakh that was given as interim compensation to repair the home and repay my husband’s loans.
When I asked Air India (AI) authorities about the compensation, they asked me to show my husband’s proof of income.”
“I have also tried to contact his employers in Dubai, but they have not sent me the documents,” she added. Mumtaz came to Mangalore from Kasargod, Kerala, to attend the condolence meeting.
Yathindranath of Udupi lost his son Shailesh in the crash. He said: “Shailesh was on the cursed flight. He was coming to attend my wife’s funeral, but I got his dead body instead. We had to prepare for two funerals on the same day. I do not know I why I’m living,” he said with tears brimming in his eyes.
22/05/11 M Raghuram/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Air India Budget May 2011, Safety May 2011