Ahmedabad (PTI): Five days after an Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, 135 victims have so far been identified through DNA matching and 101 bodies handed over to their families, officials said on Tuesday.

Authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims as many bodies were charred beyond recognition or damaged.

"Till Tuesday morning, 135 DNA samples have been matched, and 101 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. Of these 101 deceased, five were not on board the flight," Ahmedabad Civil Hospital's medical superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi told reporters.

The 101 deceased whose mortal remains have been handed over to their relatives belonged to different parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan and Diu, he added.

Joshi earlier expressed hope that the DNA profiling all the victims will be completed by either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 persons on board crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.39 pm on June 12.

While 241 persons on board the London-bound aircraft died, one passenger miraculously survived. The crash also killed 29 persons on the ground, including five MBBS students.

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.