In an interview with The Daily Guardian, V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, talked about the relief measures, Kozhikode airport’s safety concerns as well as the misinformation being spread about the crash.
Q: What can you tell us about the rehabilitation process that you’ve been overseeing over the last two days?
A: Perhaps within two hours of the crash, all those who were trapped were evacuated and taken to the hospital. Eighteen individuals, including the pilot, lost their lives. Twenty-three were allowed to go home after first aid the very next morning. And 149 individuals were admitted to the hospital, of which 3 were on ventilators. All others are recovering, while some may have gotten discharged today.
Q: You tweeted that the PM instructed you to go to Kozhikode to oversee the rehabilitation and rescue efforts. We know he’s been in constant touch with you.
A: He spoke to me twice. When the accident happened, he first spoke to the Kerala Chief Minister and then me. He enquired about the ground situation, whether all have been evacuated from the site and then he wanted me to coordinate between the relief activities as well as the other agencies. Once I reached Kozhikode, he again called me in the morning to know about the injured individuals, relief activities and other such things. He also alerted me about the arrival of the Civil Aviation Minister and told me to coordinate with him.
Q: This flight was coming from Dubai and these individuals have family there, has the MEA got in touch with the families back in Dubai?
A: Immediately after the crash, we had made a helpline functional. We used that to provide information to family and friends of individuals who were on the flight. We, as well as our consulate have been in touch with them.
Q: There’s a lot of misinformation being propagated about the crash. What do you have to say about that?
A: All false speculations have been denied by the Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. We should wait till the DGCA report comes. Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal has said that within a week he’s expecting the report; till it comes we shouldn’t speculate and come to conclusions.
Q: In 2011-12, the DGCA had flagged Kozhikode as one of the 11 airports ‘that posed a safety risk to flight operations in the country’. In July 2019, there was a scare involving another Air India Express flight in Kozhikode, when its tail touched the runway while landing. Was this tragedy inevitable?
A: This issue was also raised in the press conference by the Civil Aviation Minister and he has categorically denied this. Whatever earlier reports were, these had nothing to do with the crash that has happened.
Q: How long do you see this entire rehabilitation process and when can we expect normalcy back at Kozhikode airport?
A: My understanding is that the passenger service has already restarted. The airport is functional. Those who are injured are recovering under proper care. What’s left is the inquiry and compensation. Boeing is sending an investigative team to study the crash and various other agencies related to air crash investigations are also conducting their investigations.
Q: You talked about compensation and various other things the government would be doing for the victims. Could you elaborate on that?
A: Air India has announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for those who have lost their lives, Rs 2 lakh for those seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries. The state government has also announced Rs 10 lakh for those who have lost their lives, which is apart from the Rs 2 lakh that the Prime Minister has announced. Also, the insurance claims that airlines and the individuals would be making.
Q: What is your and the MEA’s role in taking the case forward?
A: The passengers are people who were working abroad, we are closely observing the situation and any new developments or issues that come up we will be actively helping out those who were present in the aircraft.