PATNA: A pall of gloom has descended on the house of Manisha Thapa, a crew member of Air India flight AI-171 that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Manisha’s family resides near Shyama Apartment at Jagdeo Path, barely 500 metres from the Bihar Special Armed Police (BSAP) battalion headquarters, in the state capital.
Manisha’s two uncles -- Guddu Bahadur Thapa and Babloo Thapa -- both havildars in the BSAP, said that they received information about the tragic incident from her friend over phone around 2 pm.
“The family members have already left for Ahmedabad after receiving information about the tragedy that struck the family,” they said.
Both Guddu and Babloo are currently posted as havildars at BSAP battalion headquarters in the state capital. Manisha’s father Raju Thapa is a member of BSAP and currently posted in Bihar’s Begusarai district while her mother, Laxmi Thapa, is a housewife. Manisha’s younger brother Amit Thapa is pursuing graduation from a Patna-based college.
Manisha’s mother’s condition worsened after receiving the shocking news. “She is under supervision of a doctor ever since she came to know about the incident,” said a family member, who was sitting beside Laxmi to console her.
Guddu Thapa said Manisha was good at studies from the very beginning. After her graduation from St. Xaviers’ College, Patna, she joined IndiGo Airlines as an air hostess in Patna before switching over to Air India. “It’s hard to believe that she is no more,” Guddu said with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Though the Thapas originally hail from Biratnagar in Nepal, they settled in Patna after two of them were inducted in BSAP No.1, which has its headquarters in Patna.
"Manisha was born in Patna, she completed her education from here and also got a good job but destiny had willed otherwise," remarked Guddu Thapa. Manisha’s neighbours also shared their good memories with her, saying that she was very meek and mild. “Though Thapas are known for their exemplary courage, she was very humble and used to meet people with a smile on her face. That made her different from others,” said a neighbour Babita Sinha.
Bihar govt releases helpline:
The Bihar government has started a helpline number, appealing to people to provide information about any victim of the Ahmedabad plane clash hailing from the state.
In a statement, the Disaster Management Department (DMD) said that if anyone comes to know about victims of the plane crash hailing from Bihar can share information on helplines, 0612-2294204, 0612-2294205 and 1070.
The DMD will provide all assistance to the victim, if any, hailing from the state, in that case, it said.
