The day after -- gloom shrouds bodies and pyres

The day after -- gloom shrouds bodies and pyres
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE & AGENCIES

NEW DELHI/PATNA, JULY 18: The day after the Alliance Air plane crashed at Patna, a pall of gloom hung over the relatives and friends of the dead. With one more body extricated from the wreckage today, the toll rose to 57. Fifty four bodies were, meanwhile, identified and handed over to the families from Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai, Indore and other places. The seven who survived the crash miraculously have been shifted to hospitals in New Delhi.

Two bodies charred beyond recognition are yet to be identified, District Magistrate Amit Khare said. These bodies are believed to be that of B B Shah of National Thermal Power Corporation and M Gupta of Reliance.

While the government responded to the families of the passengers who died, there seemed to be a lack of concern for those at the Gardanibagh government colony who became victims unwittingly when the plane crashed on their houses.

Khare, for instance, had no idea in the morning that there had been a fifth victim on the ground. One of the burning wings of the aircraft had hit Virendra Rai, 28, from Arrah who had a cowshed there. Rai was killed on the spot along with six buffalos. ``I had no idea of this death,'' Khare, who is supervising the rescue operations, told this reporter. ``I will check and then think about what I can do for him,'' he added.

``No one has come to us with any relief or help,'' Jitendra Rai, his brother, complained to this reporter. ``I had to beg from people for his cremation as I have been reduced to a pauper,'' he said, sobbing.

The district administration of Patna has made no assessment of the extent of damage the plane has caused to the residents of the government quarters at Gardanibagh. Another person who has suffered because of the crash is Vijay Yadav, also from Arrah, who had a cowshed at the house of the Duttas. Vijay lost six cows and two buffaloes. ``I don't know how I will survive,'' he told this reporter. ``All the ministers and big people are taking care of the plane passengers but nobody is coming to us and checking what we have lost,'' the young man said.

The government has no plans to rehabilitate those affected by the crash. While two houses have been reduced to rubble, other houses and cowsheds have been damaged. ``So far as compensation for the victims on the ground is concerned, as per government rules one eligible person from each of the families will be provided with a job but nobody is getting any ex gratia,'' Khare said.

``This is unfair,'' protested Amarendranath Mishra, who received head injuries and burns when the ceiling of his bathroom collapsed on him. With bloodshot eyes and scars all over the body, Mishra said, ``All deaths and injuries are tragic, but while the injured from the plane will be getting Rs 2 lakh, we will not receive anything,'' Mishra, who is a section officer in the industries department of the Bihar government said. Fed up with the chaos and lack of facilities at the Patna Medical College Hospital, Mishra, along with sons Prajesh, 24, and Nikhilesh, 17, had got himself discharged for treatment at a private nursing home. The 54-year-old government official said only Bihar Governor V C Pandey had been kind enough to give them a compensation of Rs 15,000 each.

Mishra's main grouse was that the Indian Airlines had not done anything for them ``We have lost everything,'' his wife Shashibala, who had also received injuries, said.

Meanwhile, funeral pyres were burning at various places across the country.Six bodies were consigned to flames at the Lodhi Road crematorium in New Delhi. The mourners were the same for at least five of the dead -- employees of the Central Electricity Authority where they all worked. They were S.K.Saha, A.Rengaswamy, both chief engineers, K.G.Sharma and P.N.Saharia, both deputy directors, and L.D.Jhangde, director.

In Patna, the mortal remains of the chief typist with the finance department of the Bihar government, Vaidyanath Dutta, and his daughter, Minakshi, were consigned to flames today. Dutta was staying at the government quarters at Gardanibag with his family. His daughter, Poonam, who is battling for her life, has been shifted to Delhi.

Chief secretary V S Dubey assured a delegation of employees that the government would ensure immediate payment of compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh to the family, as announced by the Union civil aviation ministry. The employees claimed the Chief Secretary also announced allotment of a government flat and a job to at least one member of the family.

In Indore, another pyre was lit for Manjeet Singh Sohanpal, Captain of the ill-fated plane. His younger brother, Ravindra Singh, also a pilot with a private airlines, lit the pyre. Earlier, a large number of people, including his friends, local IA officials, political leaders and relatives took part in the funeral procession.

It was Union Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee who reached Calcutta with 12 bodies an hour past midnight yesterday. Voicing the pain and anguish of the relatives, she regretted the deployment of old aircraft in the eastern region. But wary of a controversy, she declined to confirm if she would take up the issue with the cabinet.

The state government today drew a lot of flak in the assembly for not sending anyone to receive the bodies at the airport. It was left to Mamata to console the relatives who were trying to come to terms with the tragedy.

A solitary Rupa Dey, who arrived with the coffin of her husband, Sandip Dey, broke down on failing to spot any familiar faces. The railway minister stepped in and made arrangements for her departure.

As day broke, the gloom spread. The wife of Biswajit Mukhopadhayay, 36, an engineer with Indophil Chemicals, had no time to grieve over her husband's death as she was busy attending to her parents-in-law, both heart patients and now in a serious condition. Biswajit's five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son were sitting huddled in a corner, overawed by the presence of the VIP mourners, like MLA and Chief Whip in the Assembly, Rabin Mondol's presence.

Flat no 304 at Baguihati was today deserted. This used to be the residence of Priyanki Newar and Pushpa Inder, both cabin crew members of the plane.

Neighbour Dhira Lahiri said in a choked voice: ``I knew them. They were both very young and full of life. The two lived here in turns almost. One used to come and the other leave for duty...their memories will be with me till the last day of my life. The apartment is new and they were my first companions,'' she added.