Gayaji : Bihar’s Gaya, In the aftermath of India’s deadliest aviation disaster, religious ceremonies were held at two of Bihar’s most sacred temples to honour the 241 lives lost in the Ahmedabad plane crash.
At the historic Vishnupad Temple in Gaya, Brahmin priests performed Tulsi Archana for the peace of the departed souls. Simultaneously, Buddhist monks gathered at the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya for a solemn prayer ceremony and lamp offering. The crash of Air India Flight 171 on June 12, which struck the hostel building of B.J. Medical College in Meghnani Nagar, claimed 229 passengers and 12 crew members. Tragically, several people on the ground were also killed. Only one passenger is reported to have survived and remains in hospital care.
This catastrophe marks one of the worst aviation tragedies in Indian history. In Gaya, members of the Shri Vishnupad Prabandhak Karini Samiti paid tribute and prayed for the strength of grieving families. At the Mahabodhi Temple, the ceremony was led by BTMC chief monk Bhikkhu Chalinda, along with senior monks Bhikkhu Manoj and others from various monasteries. These acts of spiritual solidarity echoed across traditions of Hindu and Buddhist offering a shared space for mourning, remembrance, and healing.
