Mangalore: Year After Air Crash - Families Share Pain at Condolence Meet
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS/SB)
Mangalore, May 21: The first anniversary condolence meeting of the tragic air crash of Air India Express Flight No IX 812 was held at Sahodaya Hall near Karnataka Theological College Collector’s Gate, Balmatta on Saturday May 21.
Dr B M Hegde, former dean, MAHE presiding over the programme that carried a great weight of emotions, tried to consolidate and strengthen all the kins of victims with his heart touching talk. He illustrated that death is the natural justice given by the God. All those who are born will have to die, sooner or later. He said loving others would free them from prolonged sadness. He added that love is the medicine for sorrow.
Asserting that the air crash tragedy has taught a lesson that religious hatred has no place in this planet, he stressed a memorial manifesting communal harmony should be built at the crash site.
He also said that religion is a very personal matter and when one comes out of one's home, one should learn to mingle with every human being. Let a message of communal harmony be spread to the entire world and let people of different religions, castes come together to share and thereby keep away their pain only to love with a pure heart, he said.
About compensation, he said death cannot be compensated at all, but the rightful and fair compensation is the right of kins of victims. They should fight for it legally without dithering it.
Happiness is lifelong and only time can heal sorrow, he said.
Y Mohammed Beary, president of Mangalore Air Crash Victims Families' Association said that the condolence meet is an effort to pay homage to the departed souls. Only family members of victims know the pain. He added that they were not blaming anyone, including authorities, government, politicians, or even Air India, but only hope that the departed souls rest in peace for which the concerned could do only something meaningful. He stressed all the sufferers should be compensated on humanity basis without making them struggle for the same.
Earlier Raja Yogini Brahma Kumari P K Nirmala C, Abdul Aziz Faizi and Fr Ravi Santhosh Kamath invoked the blessings of god.
Kins of victims and survivors took part in the condolence meeting. The meeting gave a feeling that sadness could be alleviated when it is shared.
Later it was announced that as part of the condolence programme for May 22 (crash day), prayer will be held at the crash site at 6.20 am. As per the schedule charted out, all arriving passengers on May 22 will be honoured with a rose and a condolence message. All people related to AI Express (direct/indirect) were also requested to wear black strap on their arms to show their solidarity. It has been decided that according to Indian local time at 7 pm, everybody including cockpit crew/ cabin crew and engineering staff have to maintain 2 minutes silence in the name of passengers and crew members on board IX 812 May 22, 2010.
At the same all people of Mangalore are also requested to observe silence for two minutes.