The Gujarat government announced on Tuesday that a new hostel complex equipped with state-of-the-art facilities will be constructed at the site where an Air India plane crashed on June 12 last year, killing 260 people. The crash site is located in Meghaninagar, Gandhinagar.
Project Details and Funding
State health minister Praful Pansheriya informed the Times of India that Tata Airlines has provided the state government with Rs 53.12 crore for the project. The remaining amount will be borne by the government, for which a budgetary allocation has already been made. The tender for construction will be completed in the coming weeks, and the hostel complex is expected to be finished within one year.
Instead of the four blocks of the Atulyam Hostel Complex in the New Mental Hospital campus that were severely damaged in the crash, a total of seven blocks will be constructed, each being a G+8 storeyed structure. A structural audit of the four hostel blocks, canteen, and a substation building declared the structures unsafe for habitation, making demolition unavoidable.
Accommodation and Amenities
When completed, the project will accommodate 236 doctors, including super-speciality doctors and students, over the next three years. The seven blocks will come up on land allocated for educational purposes. Each flat will be designed in a studio apartment style, featuring a living room with an attached kitchen, one bedroom, and toilet facilities. Students residing in the campus will have amenities such as a spacious basement parking facility, separate accommodation for unmarried postgraduate students, a modern mess, gymnasium, recreation room, and attractive landscaping.
Victims' Families Demand Memorial
Meanwhile, some families of the AI171 aeroplane crash victims have approached the Ministry of Civil Aviation against the move. In an email sent on Tuesday, they requested that the site be preserved as a memorial space dedicated to the victims. The email stated, "We respectfully but firmly request that the site be preserved as a memorial space dedicated to the victims, rather than being immediately repurposed or redeveloped into another public facility."
The families argued that a memorial would serve as a place of remembrance and a permanent public acknowledgement of the lives lost, as well as the importance of accountability and safety. They asked the government to consult affected families before making irreversible decisions regarding the future of the location.
Minister Pansheriya acknowledged that a suggestion for a memorial has been made, but stated that the government is clear that the plot of land is to be used for educational purposes only.
Background of the Crash
On June 12 last year, flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 242 persons on board and 18 others on the ground.
