2 days ago
Gujaratis hold prayer meet for crash victims
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Kolkata: The death and devastation played in loop on TV and social media left several Kolkata homes shocked and anxious on Thursday.
Rishabh Kothari, Hindustan Club president and ex-MCCI president, was shattered.
Among the victims were his close family friends from Baroda, Neeraj Lavanya and his wife Aparna.
"My friends were on that flight, going to meet their daughter in London. It's very difficult to come to terms with this. Hundreds of flights take off everyday, but this is just fate, and bad luck. I hope authorities take appropriate actions and my prayers and condolences are with the families who lost their loved ones," he said.
Members of the Gujarati community in Kolkata held a prayer meeting at BAPS Swaminarayan temple in Bhowanipore for those killed in Thursday's flight crash. "We held a special prayer for the victims of the flight crash after Thursday evening's assembly at the temple," said Manish Jasani, a volunteer at the temple.
Kamal Parekh, chairman of Stewart Security Limited, was worried about his son, Parimal, who lives in Ahmedabad and had just flown in from Delhi.
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"Though I knew he wasn't on that plane, a sense of insecurity lingered. He assured me we would talk on Friday, but I was frantic. Thankfully, no one we know was on the flight, but the loss of any life is a tragedy."
Nafeeza Pavri, a Kolkata resident and a frequent flyer, said: "How does something like this happen, especially with all the modern aviation technology we have today? I'm supposed to travel tomorrow, and I'm already feeling the anxiety kick in.
It's heartbreaking for the victims and their families."
Management consultant Jayanta Chakraborty, who has been living in Ahmedabad since 2009 and travels frequently for work, was "deeply unsettled" by the crash. "I live around 25 km from the crash site. Currently, all flights have been suspended, and the area has been cordoned off with traffic completely blocked. This is a grave incident, and I hope an independent investigative board is appointed to probe the cause," Chakraborty said.
Pharmaceutical professional Siddhartha Sen landed in Ahmedabad on Wednesday on an IndiGo flight that reached around midnight. "Knowing how close in timing and location it was to the tragic crash fills me with a sense of fortune, as well as deep sorrow. The crash occurred in a densely populated area, which only worsens the scale of the disaster. People have been reaching out to check if I'm safe. While I'm grateful, I can't help but think of those who weren't as lucky," he said.
Residents living near the Ahmedabad airport are shaken. Shristi Vinod Pandey, an advocate at Civil Sessions Court, Ahmedabad, who lives 10 km from the crash site, said, "It could've been us. It crashed into a residential society. That's too close for comfort."
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