Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SR/VA)

Mangalore Sep 8: A protest was staged against the injustice meted out to the families of crash victims by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Mangalore Air Crash Victims’ Families Association in front of Air India Office here on Wednesday September 8.

Kasargod MP P Karunakaran alleged that by shirking away from its responsibility of paying appropriate compensation, the airline as well as the Civil Aviation Ministry was trying to ease the burden on its insurance company. Karunakarn said that this act of Air India and insurance consortium is illegal and against the international law.

He also said that Air India’s move to ask the grief stricken to produce income certificates of the victims for compensation is an inhuman act.
District president of DYFI Muneer Katipalla said that as per the Montreal convention the Air India authorities were supposed to pay around 75 lac Indian rupees to the air crash victims families but the officials with the help of private insurance like Reliance which is tied up with Air India and Mulla are holding meetings in Ocean Pearl and other posh hotels and paying the victims families 10 lac to 35 lac only.

The protestors demanded that the families should be given the entire amount as decided earlier. They said that the crash victims’ family members are already emotionally broken and problems such as these would only add on to their worries since some of the families have lost their sole bread winners.

They warned that if their demands are not fulfilled they would take the issue to the parliament.

Kasargod M P Karunakar, DYFI state secretary TV Rajesh, Mangalore Air Crash Victims’ Families Association president Mohammad Beary and the association members with air crash victim’s families were present during the protest.