Gujarat to rebuild hostel hit in Air India crash despite memorial demands
Families of victims urge authorities to preserve Ahmedabad crash site as a place of remembrance while state unveils Rs 105 crore redevelopment plan
The Gujarat government has announced plans to rebuild the medical college hostel complex destroyed in last year’s Air India AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad, despite appeals from victims’ families to preserve the site as a memorial.
Health Minister Praful Pansheriya said the state would construct a new ultra-modern hostel facility at the same location at an estimated cost of Rs 105 crore.
The London-bound Air India flight AI-171 crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad’s Meghaninagar area shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on 12 June last year. The disaster claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew on board, along with 19 people on the ground. One passenger survived.
Families of several victims have urged authorities not to erase the crash site without consultation. In emails sent to government officials and shared by a law firm representing 115 victims, relatives described the location as a place of collective grief and remembrance.
“For us, this place is not merely land or infrastructure. It is a site connected to lives, memories, grief and irreversible loss,” one family member wrote, calling for the area to be preserved as a memorial dedicated to those who died.
The relatives said such a memorial would serve as a permanent public acknowledgement of the tragedy while also highlighting the importance of aviation safety and accountability.
However, the state government has said redevelopment is necessary after a structural audit concluded that the damaged hostel buildings were unsafe and could not be restored.
Pansheriya said the Tata Group, which owns Air India, had agreed to provide Rs 53.12 crore to the health department to compensate for damage caused to the ‘Atulyam’ hostel blocks, canteen and sub-station building located near the Civil Hospital campus.
According to the minister, the new project will feature a ground-plus-eight hostel complex comprising ‘Atulyam 1 to 7’, designed to accommodate 236 doctors, including married residents wishing to stay with their spouses.
The redevelopment will also include a canteen block, a new electrical sub-station, basement parking, accommodation for unmarried postgraduate students, a gymnasium, recreation facilities and landscaped open spaces.
Each residential unit will be designed in a studio apartment format with a living area, kitchen, bedroom and attached bathroom facilities.
The minister added that Rs 34.65 crore has already been allocated for the project in the 2026–27 state budget against an estimated provision of Rs 51.84 crore.
With IANS inputs