Mumbai/Ahmedabad: Air India has written to Radhika Rupani, daughter of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani that there is no pressure on the kin of the victims of the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad to accept the company’s full and final compensation amount within a particular time frame.
Vijay Rupani was among the 260 people killed after Air India flight AI171 crashed immediately after take-off from Ahmedabad.
“Our offer of final compensation did not set out any timetable for acceptance. Families are entirely free to wait until the investigation report has been released, as some have chosen to do,” the airline wrote to Radhika, as per NDTV, which has accessed the letter.
The politician’s daughter had earlier written to the chairman of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran, wherein she demanded ‘transparency’, ‘answers’ from the company.
Air India, owned by Tata Sons, is sending documents requiring families to accept this compensation in exchange for waiving all future and present claims against Air India, Radhika claimed in her letter.
“The investigation is not yet complete, yet the document requires families to permanently waive present and future claims before all facts are known. We deserve more than compensation. We deserve answers. We deserve transparency and above all closure,” she wrote in her letter.
Air India has maintained that families should not feel forced to accept the compensation they are offering. Families of victims can either accept the financial support the company is providing or wait
until the final report of the investigation is out, the company has said.
“There is absolutely no reason for families to feel pressured to choose between immediate financial support and awaiting the investigation report. In the aftermath of the accident, Air India immediately started disbursing compensation on an interim basis. This was intended to meet the immediate financial needs of families, whilst the longer process of assessing final compensation got underway,” Air India’s letter to Radhika stated.
“The broad wording is only to ensure that settlements of final compensation are indeed final, and to protect Air India from receiving any direct claims (from other family members) or indirect claims (from equipment manufacturers, suppliers etc.) in the future, despite families having entered into a final settlement with Air India,” The airline clarified what it means in the document Receipt, Discharge & Indemnity, which has to be signed by the families of the victims.
Meanwhile, Vijay Rupani’s son Rushabh Rupani told reporters on Wednesday that his family found it very difficult to deal with the sudden loss of his father.
“My father is remembered in countless small moments…It’s not easy for anyone. We, as a family, have lost a guide, a mentor and a pathfinder,” Rushabh Rupani told reporters, as reported by PTI.
“What is important is how we preserve these memories and how we channel this energy positively and constructively for the betterment of society,” he said.
His family has established a foundation in memory of his late father for public welfare, Rushabh said.
“To positively channel his memories and ideals, we have established the ‘Shri Vijay Rupani Memorial Foundation’ in Rajkot. The purpose of this foundation is to work for the empowerment of youth and women, and for social uplift,” he said.
“Following the philosophy of ‘Antyodaya’ as defined by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, and inspired by my father’s thoughts, we aim to adopt an approach that is not self-centred but society-centred,” he added.
The foundation will serve in the education sector, healthcare, youth development and women’s welfare initiatives, he said.