Seems that there had been a great deal of opposition to the new runway at Mangalore airport which was the seen of the tragic crash of an Air India plane yesterday with the loss of 160 lives. Among others an organisation called the Environment Support Group filed two cases against the runway. In their cases they said that the runway was against Indian laws and below international standards. They pointed out that the runway was surrounded by industrial smokestacks and garbage dumps which attracted birds. Being on a plateau a plane could fall down into the ravine in case of an accident and it would be very difficult for rescue teams to reach victims. Precisely what happened yesterday. The seven people who survived have given harrowing accounts of going to hospital in auto rickshaws and by motorbikes. Needless to say that both cases were dismissed by the high court and an appeal was dismissed by the supreme court in 2003. Is their going to be any soul searching by the people responsible for building a dangerous runway in the first place? Perhaps, but not because so many lives have been lost. But because Air India, which is surviving on a drip feed of taxpayer cash, will have to pay out huge sums to survivors and relatives of the dead. Criminal politicians and uncivil servants are indifferent to the loss of lives of Indians but if Air India is wound up after this the sacrifice of so many lives will not be in vain. Sadly our journalists being freeloaders sucking upto politicians are never going to ask pertinent questions.