Mangalore: Today is the third anniversary of Air India Express crash that claimed 158 lives at Mangalore International Airport. Post the horrific crash, Air India authorities gave a number of promises, one of them being a community hall to perpetuate the memory of the victims of the air crash at Malavoor gram panchayat, where the tragedy took place.
Three years on, the promise is yet to be fulfilled. However, Air India deputy general manager Sudhir Amin told TOI from Mumbai that AI has not forgotten the assurance given to the GP authorities a few weeks after the May 22, 2010 crash. "The project is definitely on. The funds are being generated at the moment. We have managed to raise some amount. Once we get the required amount, we will approach the GP and hand it over to them," he said.
The idea of the community hall came up after the memorial built at the ground zero was vandalized in October 2010, a few weeks after it was erected. Vandals had broken the granite slabs on which the names of the crash victims were etched.
For Air India, the community hall will come in handy as it will serve as a memorial also, with the airline authorities finding it hard to build a memorial either at the ground zero or at the mass burial site because of technical problems associated with the sites.
22/05/13 Stanley Pinto/Times of India
