IMA urges Tata Group to extend Rs 1 cr compensation to kin of deceased docs

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has appealed to Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran to extend the announced compensation of Rs 1 crore to the kin of doctors and nearby residents who lost their lives in the recent aircraft crash over a hostel in Ahmedabad.

Dr Anil Kumar J Nayak, President of the IMA, revealed that the association has written to the Tata Group following the airline's earlier announcement of compensation for passengers aboard the ill-fated flight.

"...We have written a letter to Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran, saying that you had announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore each for all the passengers. So we requested him to give Rs 1 crore each to the doctors and people around the hostel who lost their lives. Secondly, if any student or resident is injured or disabled, a package should be announced for them also after conducting a survey," said Dr Anil Kumar J Nayak while speaking to ANI.

Apart from this, two doctors have filed a letter petition in the Supreme Court, seeking directions to the Central government to provide adequate compensation to the victims of the Air India flight AI -171 crash.

The plea, filed on Friday by Dr Saurav Kumar and Dr Dhruv Chauhan, has urged the SC to direct the Central government to immediately announce and disburse interim compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the families of all deceased victims, including resident doctors from Ahmedabad's BJ Medical College who were among those killed.

The plea states that as per various constitutional provisions and a 2020 Supreme Court judgement which laid down detailed principles for assessing compensation, it is the state's duty to take concrete remedial action, in this regard.

The plea has further called for the constitution of a High-Level Expert Committee comprising retired judges, aviation experts, actuaries and economists to assess and determine final compensation based on principles established in the 2020 Supreme Court judgement.

Moreover, the petition seeks directions for the Central Government to provide rehabilitation support, including employment opportunities for eligible family members of the deceased persons and for a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash with necessary steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The plea has been filed by Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput on behalf of the two doctors.

Following the crash, the Tata group, which owns Air India, announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic Air India plane crash on Thursday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also ordered enhanced safety inspections on Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 fleet.

As a preventive measure, the DGCA has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect, in coordination with the concerned regional DGCA offices.

Of the passengers, 241 died in the crash. The lone survivor, identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment.