Confusion over construction of crash site monument
CDA and Airblue present divergent accounts on the promised memorial.
ISLAMABAD:
There is no word on the memorial that the authorities had pledged to construct at the site of the Airblue plane crash in Margalla Hills two months into the tragic incident.
Capital Development Authority and Airblue administration had announced that a monument will be erected in the memory of the people who had died in the fateful flight on July 28.
But confusion reigns as both parties now present a different account on the possibility of constructing such a monument.
Alim Shahid, an Airblue official, said that the construction would be completed before the first anniversary of the incident. The company is also planning to build a wall at the graveyard at H-11 where the passengers are buried.
“This is a joint venture with CDA and we hope it will be completed before the first year commemoration,” he said.
Expressing confidence on the execution of the plan, Chairman Airblue Shahid Kamran also said a committee had been constituted by CDA for the project, with the location also having been finalised. “Construction would begin as soon as the entire wreckage of the plane has been collected,” he said.
However, Ramzan Sajid, spokesperson CDA, said that Airblue administration had not contacted the civic agency so far. “They did not enter into a formal or informal communication with the administration on the matter. They would need CDA’s permission. There is a possibility that they will not allowed to build the monument at all,” he said.
Disassociating the authority from Airblue’s plans, Sajid said that CDA was planning to construct another monument on its own to commemorate the six youth parliamentarians who had lost their lives in the incident.
Moreover, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali Ahmed said that ICT administration would pursue the matter further with Airblue regarding construction of a wall in the H-11 graveyard of the capital. “No concrete steps have been taken to pursue the plan by the Airblue administration so far,” he added.
On July 28, Airblue flight ED-202 flying from Karachi crashed into Margalla Hills in Islamabad at 9:45, killing all 152 onboard.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2010.
There is no word on the memorial that the authorities had pledged to construct at the site of the Airblue plane crash in Margalla Hills two months into the tragic incident.
Capital Development Authority and Airblue administration had announced that a monument will be erected in the memory of the people who had died in the fateful flight on July 28.
But confusion reigns as both parties now present a different account on the possibility of constructing such a monument.
Alim Shahid, an Airblue official, said that the construction would be completed before the first anniversary of the incident. The company is also planning to build a wall at the graveyard at H-11 where the passengers are buried.
“This is a joint venture with CDA and we hope it will be completed before the first year commemoration,” he said.
Expressing confidence on the execution of the plan, Chairman Airblue Shahid Kamran also said a committee had been constituted by CDA for the project, with the location also having been finalised. “Construction would begin as soon as the entire wreckage of the plane has been collected,” he said.
However, Ramzan Sajid, spokesperson CDA, said that Airblue administration had not contacted the civic agency so far. “They did not enter into a formal or informal communication with the administration on the matter. They would need CDA’s permission. There is a possibility that they will not allowed to build the monument at all,” he said.
Disassociating the authority from Airblue’s plans, Sajid said that CDA was planning to construct another monument on its own to commemorate the six youth parliamentarians who had lost their lives in the incident.
Moreover, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali Ahmed said that ICT administration would pursue the matter further with Airblue regarding construction of a wall in the H-11 graveyard of the capital. “No concrete steps have been taken to pursue the plan by the Airblue administration so far,” he added.
On July 28, Airblue flight ED-202 flying from Karachi crashed into Margalla Hills in Islamabad at 9:45, killing all 152 onboard.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2010.