Charity trust set up in memory of Gulf News staffer

Dubai: A charitable trust has been set up in the name of Manirekha Punja, the former Gulf News staffer who died in an air crash last year.

The name of the trust is ‘Shashi Rekha — Harshini foundation' with an initial fund of about Dh800,000 (Rs10 million). Her brother said the trust money will be further increased as the family is able to get more of the couple's life savings.

Manirekha died along with her husband Shashikant, and daughter Harshini, in the plane crash at Mangalore airport on May 22 last year. The family was going home to attend a wedding.

"May 22, 2010 was the saddest day in our life," said P. M. Jayasimha Shetty, brother of Manirekha, in a statement to Gulf News. "It will hurt till the end and has drained out all the happiness in our life."

The brother said the Trust money will be utilised to give scholarships to deserving girls for their higher education. "We are in the initial stages of finalising modalities to identify and select the candidates as it should reach the deserving pupils," he said.

The brother said in due course of time there is a plan to convert her house in Mangalore to an old age home. He said this is what she had always dreamt of. "Probably this is the best we could do to fulfil their dreams and to remember them forever."

Last-minute change

Manirekha had joined Gulf News in 1995. She worked as an accounts supervisor in Gulf News. As fate would have it, she changed her travel schedule at the last minute to take the ill-fated flight.

The Air India Express landed during heavy rain, skidded off the runway, fell into a valley below and burst into flames.

Manirekha's teenage daughter Harshini's last Tweet was from Dubai airport. "At the airport and blah =_= Only thing to look forward to is the rain."

Many relatives of the crash victims have gone to India for the prayer meeting to be held there. The plane crash claimed 158 lives. All Air India offices will observe a minute's silence in prayer for the victims.

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