Vadodara coffinmakers work round clock to support AI 171 crash response

Time of India

11 hours ago

Vadodara: As the city reels from the AI 171 plane crash, a quiet yet powerful act of compassion unfolded in Vadodara. Coffinmakers in the city, moved by the scale of the tragedy, worked through the night — without sleep and not motivated by profit — to enable dignified final journeys for the dead.
Officials placed an emergency order for 100 coffins with local coffinmakers on Friday, as preparations to hand over the bodies to families began.
With coffin suppliers in Ahmedabad unable to fully meet the sudden demand, officials reached out to Christian communities in other cities, including Vadodara. The first batch of coffins was dispatched to Ahmedabad late on Saturday afternoon.
Two coffinmakers from Vadodara who usually serve the Christian community, have been working without rest since Friday night to fulfil the order.
"We are supplying the coffins at cost price without any profit," said Nelvin Rajwadi, one of the coffinmakers. "This is our way of contributing at this painful time," Rajwadi said his team of workers had not slept since 9pm on Friday.
The coffins are made of plywood and lined with plastic and white cloth. While the construction isn't technically difficult, the challenge is in producing such a large number in a short span of time with limited workers.
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"We were joined by a few members other of our community who came forward to help," said Ankit Christian, the other coffinmaker. "I had stopped making coffins some years ago but resumed work at the community's request. We are determined to fulfil this order on time."
To support the effort, social worker Aldrin Thomas said community members have been providing food, drinks and other essentials to the workers. Space was arranged at Hill Memorial School to ramp up the production.
Vadodara: As the city reels from the AI 171 plane crash, a quiet yet powerful act of compassion unfolded in Vadodara. Coffinmakers in the city, moved by the scale of the tragedy, worked through the night — without sleep and not motivated by profit — to enable dignified final journeys for the dead.
Officials placed an emergency order for 100 coffins with local coffinmakers on Friday, as preparations to hand over the bodies to families began.
With coffin suppliers in Ahmedabad unable to fully meet the sudden demand, officials reached out to Christian communities in other cities, including Vadodara. The first batch of coffins was dispatched to Ahmedabad late on Saturday afternoon.
Two coffinmakers from Vadodara who usually serve the Christian community, have been working without rest since Friday night to fulfil the order.
"We are supplying the coffins at cost price without any profit," said Nelvin Rajwadi, one of the coffinmakers.
"This is our way of contributing at this painful time," Rajwadi said his team of workers had not slept since 9pm on Friday.
The coffins are made of plywood and lined with plastic and white cloth. While the construction isn't technically difficult, the challenge is in producing such a large number in a short span of time with limited workers.
"We were joined by a few members other of our community who came forward to help," said Ankit Christian, the other coffinmaker. "I had stopped making coffins some years ago but resumed work at the community's request. We are determined to fulfil this order on time."
To support the effort, social worker Aldrin Thomas said community members have been providing food, drinks and other essentials to the workers. Space was arranged at Hill Memorial School to ramp up the production.
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