Ahmedabad: She had prepared for the future, not for fate. Jaya Gajjar, 81, had signed her will just a day before the crash and had told her three children that she finally felt “at peace” after settling her affairs. The next day, she boarded the doomed AI Flight 171.
On June 11, Jaya had met her lawyer for paperwork related to a new property. There she expressed a strong desire to make her will, to ensure that her assets were equally divided among her two daughters and a son. “After that, she told me she had no more worries, not even the fear of Covid,” said Tanay Gajjar, her son.
Tanay said his mother had also told the family that she did not want elaborate rituals after her death. The family says compensation means little in the face of the loss. “When you lose your mother, money does not matter,” he said. “A mother’s worth cannot be measured in monetary terms.”
He also questioned Air India’s technical reliability, claiming the family’s Air India flight the same day from Delhi to Ahmedabad had been cancelled multiple times due to technical issues before they were shifted to another service. “If there had not been a fault in the aircraft that day, it would not have crashed,” he said.
The family is now awaiting the final investigation report, hoping for answers and closure.
Stay updated with the latest Ahmedabad news. Download the TOI App.
About the Author: Niyati Parikh, Special Correspondent at The Times of India, covers Gujarat’s corporate sector and MSMEs across renewables, IT, textiles, BFSI, and more. She tracks taxation, GST, GIFT City, and IFSCA with a data-led, industry-focused lens. Known for spotting stories in raw data, she also writes human-interest features on culture and animal welfare, blending sharp reporting with empathy for overlooked voices.
