Supriya Sule's ‘big alarm' after Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad
After the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule on Friday raised serious concerns over India's transport safety, calling civil aviation a big alarm and a "red flag for a long time."
Speaking to ANI, Sule said, "Civil aviation is a big alarm. It's been a red flag for a long time. I request the Government of India to come out with a white paper."
"The entire transport, be it roads, airways or civil aviation, there are a lot of concerns about safety." She added, "I thank Nitin Gadkari because he has been openly asking MPs to focus on safety. Road safety has been his priority. All of us have tried our best to work with him to make sure infrastructure and safety improve," she told ANI.
Sule noted that despite efforts in road safety, the government had struggled to maintain safety in railways and civil aviation.
"Unfortunately, our experience in railways and civil aviation has been challenging. The accidents are very alarming. I am going to discuss it in the Parliament. I'm going to meet Ashwini Vaishnaw," Sule said.
She highlighted the massive number of commuters in Mumbai alone, saying, "The number of people using railways in Mumbai is huge. The government of India needs to put in a lot of effort and improve safety in the railways pan-India."
While expressing her grief over the crash and its national impact, she said, "It's very painful. I appreciate that yesterday Amit Shah and today the Prime Minister went. The whole country, and the world, has reached out. It's been a very difficult 24 hours for India. We are all deeply pained."
She also warmly remembered BJP leader and former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, saying, "Vijay Rupaniji had been a most wonderful colleague to all of us."
On Thursday, the Al-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport. The airlines said only one out of the 242 people on board the aircraft survived the crash.
There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board the crashed plane, airline authorities said.
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