Ahmedabad, May 26 (IANS) Nearly a year after the Air India plane crash killed 260 people in Ahmedabad, the Gujarat government has approved the construction of a new super speciality hostel complex for doctors near Ahmedabad Civil Hospital after the existing accommodation blocks damaged were declared unsafe and marked for demolition.

Announcing the decision on Tuesday, State Health Minister Praful Pansheriya said: “Tata Airlines had agreed to pay Rs 53.12 crore to the Health Department towards the damage caused to the ‘Atulyam 1 to 4’ hostel blocks, canteen and sub-station building located at the New Mental Campus near Civil Hospital-Asarwa.”

The crash involved London-bound Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers and crew members, which crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport into the Meghaninagar area near BJ Medical College and doctors’ residential quarters.

Authorities later confirmed that 241 people on board were killed, with only one survivor, while several people on the ground also died after the aircraft struck hostel and residential buildings.

The overall death toll touched 260. Addressing the issue, Pansheriya said the crash caused extensive damage to the Health Department properties situated near the impact site.

“Due to the Ahmedabad plane crash incident that took place at Meghaninagar on June 12, 2025, the ‘Atulyam 1 to 4’ blocks, canteen and sub-station building under the Health Department suffered heavy damage,” the minister said.

He added that 92 students were residing in the hostel at the time of the accident. Following the crash, a structural audit declared the buildings unsafe for habitation, making demolition necessary.

“To ensure that students’ accommodation facilities are not disrupted and in their interest, the state government, under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has decided to immediately construct a new hostel,” Pansheriya said.

According to the Health Department, the new super speciality married postgraduate hostel for doctors will be built at the New Mental Campus – IGP Compound in Meghaninagar at an estimated cost of Rs 105 crore.

The project will also include a modern canteen block and a new sub-station building. Pansheriya said the project had been planned in view of the addition of 48 new super speciality seats in the medical sector.

“Planning has been done to accommodate a total of 236 super speciality married P.G. doctors, including 144 students over the next three years,” he said.

The state government has already allotted land for the project. Against an estimated requirement of Rs 51.84 crore for the present phase, a budgetary provision of Rs 34.65 crore has been approved in the 2026-27 budget to speed up the work.

The proposed ‘Atulyam 1 to 7’ hostel complex will have a ground-plus-eight-floor structure equipped with studio-style apartments.

Each flat will include a living room with an attached kitchen, one bedroom and toilet facilities. The project will also include a fire-fighting system, RO plant and strengthened drainage infrastructure.

Separate accommodation has been planned for unmarried postgraduate students along with facilities including basement parking, a mess, gymnasium, recreation room and landscaped open spaces.

–IANS

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