37 years after 133 lives were lost, families of 1988 Ahmedabad air tragedy victims still await "fair compensation"
The deadly crash of Air India Flight 171 has reopened old wounds for several families in Ahmedabad still fighting for justice nearly 37 years after the 1988 Indian Airlines crash in the city.
The Indian Airlines Flight 113, flying from Bombay to Ahmedabad, crashed on October 19, 1988, killing 133 of the 135 people on board. Each family was offered a compensation of Rs 2 lakh. But about 20 families are still locked in a legal battle, saying the amount was unfair and too low, as per a TOI report.
As quoted by TOI, Pankesh Patel, secretary of the Air Crash Claimants' Association, said, 'We are around 20 families still fighting in court. We believe the compensation should be based on the income and age of the victims. So after the High Court order, we moved the Supreme Court in 2010.'Back in 2003, the sessions court had ordered Indian Airlines and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to pay six percent interest on the compensation. This was later raised to nine percent by the Gujarat High Court in 2009. But families are still demanding more.Ushaben Patel, now 74, lost her husband Sharad Patel, a finance director with a German firm. 'My sons were in Class 5 and 3 at the time. I raised them with help from my family. They're now settled in Canada. But yes, the compensation announced after the AI 171 crash is better than what we were offered,' she said.
Reetaben Shah, also 74, lost her husband Sunil Shah, an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate. 'Our daughter was 12 years old then. We rejected the Rs 2 lakh and filed a case. We've now taken it to the Supreme Court,' she said.Ketan Patel, who was 26 at the time of the tragedy, lost his father Ranjitbhai Patel. 'He was earning around Rs 1.25 lakh per year. It's been 37 years since our legal fight began. We're still waiting for justice.'The families built a memorial at the Kotarpur crash site, a marble replica of an aircraft. 'We visit it every year on October 19,' said Ushaben.Along with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, they also developed a memorial garden called Shantivan at the site, planting 133 trees, one for each life lost.
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