A year after Air India Flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad, the site remains a testament to the devastating impact of the disaster.
The four Atulyam hostel buildings, once home to students, now stand vacant and dark, their walls bearing the scars of soot, cracked sections, broken windows, and exposed concrete.
Local residents, including Ashaben Parmar, a ragpicker who still finds aircraft fragments on her daily rounds, recall the horror of that day.
The crash, which occurred just 32 seconds after takeoff, claimed the lives of 260 people, including 19 on the ground, while one passenger survived.
Witnesses, including a scientist from the ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health, described the immediate aftermath of the disaster, with flames engulfing the hostel complex and debris scattered across the ground.
Despite the passage of time, the site remains a poignant reminder of the tragedy, with a banner marking an upcoming prayer meeting for one of the victims.
The Gujarat government has announced plans to demolish the buildings and rebuild the hostel complex at a cost of ₹103 crore, with ₹53 crore contributed by the Tata Group.
