Crash site in city’s Gardanibagh still echoes with past

Patna: Once marked by devastation, the specific pocket of Gardanibagh where a plane crashed on July 17, 2000 has since transformed into a markedly different part of the city. A govt girls' school now stands on the very site of the tragedy, alongside a flyover and newly constructed buildings. Yet beneath the layer of change, the memory of one of Patna's most horrific air disasters quietly lingers.Back then, the crash shook the city's soul, claiming over 60 lives. Today, while most of the younger generation are unaware of what unfolded in that spot, Thursday's Ahmedabad plane mishap reignited memories among elders, who began recounting the haunting moments of that black Monday morning.The crash involved an Alliance Air flight from Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, bound for Delhi via Patna. As it approached Jayprakash Narayan International Airport, the aircraft lost control and crashed into a residential zone in Gardanibagh, killing several passengers and five locals. Only seven passengers from the rear section survived.Chandan, a resident of Beur and then a Class VII student, remembered the chaos vividly. "We were walking near Kamla Nehru School when suddenly we heard a deafening crash. There was smoke everywhere and fires broke out in the surrounding areas. The scene was horrific with burned victims visible amid the wreckage."Locals were slow to respond, leaving residents traumatised by the immediate aftermath. The crash destroyed two govt residential buildings and left a permanent scar on the neighbourhood.Bunty, a resident of Anisabad, recalled how the atmosphere turned eerie in the months following the tragedy. "People avoided the area at night. Residents spoke of hearing cries for help at odd hours. Havans and religious ceremonies were performed to calm what many believed were restless souls."Ravi Ram, now 40, who works as a sweeper and lives just outside the gate of the school built on the crash site, called it "Patna's darkest day." His wife, Indu Devi, is also a sweeper at Kamla Nehru High School."We still used to hear sounds coming from inside the school building after midnight. It appears that someone is walking or running on the terrace or inside the school building," he said. "The school was built in 2010. I also lived there from 2016 to 2019 while working as a sweeper. At that time, we used to hear someone crying during the night," Ram added.Anoop Kumar, who had just joined the State Bank of India at the time, said he lost four senior colleagues from the Officers' Association in the crash. "The sound was deafening, but it took time to realise it was a plane crash. After that, people would become anxious whenever a flight passed overhead. The trauma still lingers."Ajay Kumar Singh, now a security guard at the under-construction MLC-MLA quarters near the school, said he was living in Vishnupuri, Chitkohra, when the crash occurred."There was a huge thump in the morning, then we saw fire and smoke. I rushed to the site and witnessed the heart-wrenching scene. Even now, we hear strange noises after 1am. It is like someone thrashing desks and benches inside the school. On several occasions, I and other guards woke up in fear after hearing those sounds," he said.