Mangalore, May 22: There is no memorial remaining in the names of the 158 victims of the crash of Air India Express flight from Dubai in Mangalore on May 22, 2010.
However, memories of their near and dear ones lost in one of the worst crashes in India continue to haunt hundreds of residents in the UAE and India as prayers and tears mark the third anniversary today.
Only eight passengers had survived when flight IX 812 from Dubai overshot the tabletop runway at Mangalore's Bajpe Airport and caught fire after it plunged into a valley that morning.
The scars remain in their memories. But many of the victims' relatives have not given up the fight to make sure that they receive the compensation they deserve.
Their legal battle to ensure that all crash victims' next of kin receive a minimum compensation of 100,000 SDRs (Special Drawing Rights, roughly Dh520,000) as per the Montreal Convention is still continuing in the Supreme Court of India. They hope that the verdict will be in their favour and will be a precedent in compensating any future crash victim's family, albeit praying for no such tragedy to strike anyone else.
Air India's legal counsel Hoshang D Nanavati, while speaking to Khaleej Times from Mumbai, said all victims' dependents were compensated either on full and final basis or as per the judgment of the Kerala High Court. Air India has reportedly paid more than Rs1.15 billion (about Dh78 million) for the settlement.
He also hoped that the case in the Supreme Court will be finalised in the next hearing posted in November. The verdict will now depend on the interpretation of the Carriage by Air Act in India with respect to the Montreal Convention to be given by the Union Government of India at the Supreme Court.
According to Mohammed Beary, president of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims' Families Association, some families have received compensation in multi-millions, the maximum being Rs80 million for the family of a businessman who perished in the crash.
However, that doesn't mean that everybody has got what they deserve, he said from Mangalore.
“Our demand is that there should be a minimum payment of Rs7.5 million in respect of the death of each passenger as per the Montreal Convention. In the case of non-working women and children, the average compensation given was just Rs3.5 million and Rs2.5 million, respectively.”
Relatives who feel that the compensation given to them is not enough have gone to the court as per their will. Beary said 19 compensation claims are still pending in Mangalore and some others in Kerala.
Dubai residents Santhosh Rai and Abdul Rahman, who lost their wives and children, are among those who moved the court.
“We are sure that we will win the cases, especially in the Supreme Court. And it will be a benchmark or precedent for any such compensation claims in future, though we pray that such a fate should not happen to anyone else,” said Rahman.
“It is not for the money for me that I am fighting the case. I have seen the pain and struggle of many families. Many families could not go for cases as they cannot afford the court fee. If we don't fight for them, tomorrow some others will also face the same plight.”
Some of the victims' spouses have started a new life after remarrying. But for Rahman, the family members of other victims have become his own extended family.
“I am in touch with many of them. My life has become lifeless and I consider them as my family members now. “You know, I can't sit at home with peace of mind. Neither can I go anywhere else. Wherever I went, I used to take my wife and son along… I cannot spend a day without missing them,” he said, breaking down in tears.
The screams of many mothers and children like them still haunt Puttur Ismail Abdulla who survived the crash with spinal injuries. A store manager in Deira, the 38-year-old man believes that God gave him a second life to bless his only daughter who was an infant at that time.
He came back to work in the same company two years ago and had travelled home twice in the same flight to the same airport. “The landing time is the worst thing I'm afraid of. I cannot explain what I feel at that time,” said Abdulla.
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