Air crash payout judgment a big boost to our fight'

[email protected] (CD Network)
July 21, 2011

Mangalore, July 21: The Kerala High Court judgment ruling that the families of the victims of the Air India Express crash in Mangalore Mangalore last year are entitled to a minimum individual compensation of Rs 75 lakh has evoked a sense of relief among the the relatives of those who died in one of the worst air disasters in India's aviation history.


Welcoming the decision, Mohammed Beary, president, Mangalore Air Crash Victims' Families Association, said, the counsel of Air India and senior advocate H.D. Nanavati had been staunchly opposing our claim for awarding compensation as per the provisions of the Montreal convention.


“Nanavati had also ridiculed the then aviation minister Praful Patel by saying that he did not have legal knowledge. The Kerala High Court judgment will be a boost for our fight against the discriminatory payout policy pursued by the Air India and their agencies,” Mr Beary said.


However, Mr. Beary was quick to add that“A person's life can't be equated with money.”


“We have also approached the Swedish lawyers seeking compensation on par with international standards. We have given all our document s to the reputed legal firm. One should also bear in mind that the when we filed a writ petition in the High Court through, it was yet not confirmed that the tragedy was a result of pilot error,” he noted.


When asked about the possibility of Air India filing an appeal in the High Court, Mr Beary, said we are prepared to fight against such an appeal also.


“Our lawyers —Urban Olson and Stephen Erikson - both from Stockholm in Sweden, will hold negotiations with a London insurance company with regard to the compensation of 60 crash victim families. The meeting will take place on July 28. This will be followed by two more rounds of negotiations. We are hopeful of securing justice,” Mr. Beary said.


Meanwhile, Mangalore Air Crash Victims' Families Association (formed to help the victims' kin) Legal Advisor Varadaraj K termed the verdict as landmark and said the decision would not only help the family members of May 22, 2010, crash victims, but would also serve as a future reference.

Recalling the “callous attitude” of the advocates of Mulla & Mulla (the legal counsels for Air India), who offered only Rs 35 lakh compensation to the kin of Mohammed Rafi of Kasargod, a victim of the air crash, Varadaraj said the Air India counsels had in fact forced Rafi's father Abdul Salam to approach the High Court that ruled in favour of Rafi, thereby helping all the victims.

Counsels for Air India had fixed Rs 30 lakh for women, Rs 25 lakh for children and Rs 35 lakh for men killed in the crash.

Prof John D'Silva, Principal, St Aloysius PU College, who also refused to accept the meagre compensation offered by Air India for his 29-year-old relative Ullas Joseph D'Silva's death, said: “They (Air India counsels) can't bargain or fix a price for a human being based on his present salary, when there is every chance of him getting a promotion in his career.” Ullas was employed as an accountant in a five-star hotel in West Asia.

Air India reaction

Meanwhile Air India has clarified that the airlines was not connected with the issue of compensation and the issue was being handled by the insurance companies.


When contacted, Chellam Prasad, Air India (Mangalore)?Station Manager, said the national carrier was awaiting a copy of the Kerala court judgment. He said the authorities would decide the future course of action after obtaining the verdict copy.

Victim's father slams AI

“I had no other option but to approach the court when the advocates (appointed by Air India) cared a pin for our pleas and fixed a price for my son's life,” Abdul Salam said.

“Your son was earning Rs 25,000 in Sharjah. So, we will give Rs 25 lakh as compensation,” Salam cited Mulla &?Mulla chief H?D?Nanavathi as telling him when he approached the Air India counsels for more compensation.

“I told them I would give the legal counsels Rs 50 lakh if they gave me back my son,” Salam said.

So far, the Air India has settled only 55 cases (52 dead and 3 survivors) while 68 persons (47 in Mangalore and 21 in Dubai) have approached the foreign law firm.

mangalore-air-crash-victims

Petitioner Abdul Salam (extreme right), his son Abdul Nasir with a photo of Mohammad Rafi, who was killed in Mangalore air crash

ARV

ARV2

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 18,2020

Mangaluru: As many as 178 passengers arrived in the coastal city from Dubai as the second flight under the Vande Bharat Mission landed at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) at 7.55am on Monday.

Among 178 passengers, there were 99 male, 67 female, 11 children and one infant.

Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said that all the necessary arrangements had been made to ensure that the passengers were not inconvenienced in any way. 

“All of them have been provided with health kits, sufficient food, sim cards, etc. We have also set up facilities at the airport where they can exchange foreign currency. The emigration process was conducted only after each passenger was subjected to screening by health department personnel at the airport. We will have their throat swabs tested for Covid-19 on Tuesday,” Sindhu said.

Personnel attired in personal protective equipment gear shifted the passengers’ luggage, while buses had been arranged for transporting them to quarantine facilities, Sindhu added.

Probationary IAS officer Rahul Shinde, additional deputy commissioner MJ Roopa, district health officer Dr Ramachandra Bairy and MIA director VV Rao were among those who received the returning Indians along with the DC at the airport.

Public, including friends and relatives of the passengers, were barred entry to the airport.

Rooms in as many as 10 hotels have been reserved to quarantine passengers flying in to Mangaluru from the Gulf. The rooms are priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,400. Meanwhile, those unable to afford rent will be accommodated at government hostels.

 

Mangaluru, May 18: The second repatriation flight to the coastal Karnataka from Dubai landed at Mangaluru International Airport at 7.45 pm. today.Mangaluru: As many as 178 passengers arrived in the coastal city from Dubai as the second flight under the Vande Bharat Mission landed at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) at 7.55am on Monday.

 

Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said that all the necessary arrangements had been made to ensure that the passengers were not inconvenienced in any way.

 

“All of them have been provided with health kits, sufficient food, sim cards, etc. We have also set up facilities at the airport where they can exchange foreign currency. The emigration process was conducted only after each passenger was subjected to screening by health department personnel at the airport. We will have their throat swabs tested for Covid-19 on Tuesday,” Sindhu said.

 

Personnel attired in personal protective equipment gear shifted the passengers’ luggage, while buses had been arranged for transporting them to quarantine facilities, Sindhu added.

 

Probationary IAS officer Rahul Shinde, additional deputy commissioner MJ Roopa, district health officer Dr Ramachandra Bairy and MIA director VV Rao were among those who received the returning Indians along with the DC at the airport.

 

Public, including friends and relatives of the passengers, were barred entry to the airport.

 

Rooms in as many as 10 hotels have been reserved to quarantine passengers flying in to Mangaluru from the Gulf. The rooms are priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,400. Meanwhile, those unable to afford rent will be accommodated at government hostels.

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News Network
March 16,2020

Kalaburagi, Mar 16: Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner B Sharat has banned the sale of liquor and ordered the closure of bars and restaurants in the district until further orders in the wake of coronavirus scare.

On Sunday, Sharat said that the public gatherings including local markets, village fairs, Urs festival in Kalaburagi district have been banned.

"Gatherings including local markets, village fairs, Urs festival in the district have been banned as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus until further orders," Sharat said.

The Karnataka Health Department on Sunday said that all the family members and other contacts of the 76-year-old man who died of coronavirus in Kalaburagi are being monitored closely.

The state government has said that six cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state as of now, including one person who died.

"Till date, six COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state including one death. The 5 Coronavirus positive cases are in isolation at the designated hospital in Bengaluru," the government said.

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News Network
April 26,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 26: Three new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Karnataka in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 503 as per Karnataka government.

There are 302 active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka presently, while 182 patients have been discharged, 19 deaths have been reported, state government informed.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country are 26,917, including 20,177 active cases of the virus. So far, 5,913 patients have either been cured or discharged while 826 deaths have been recorded in the country, as per data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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