Its a sad sad day when bombs are planted on mumbai trains! Why oh Why? Of all the places to hurt, not the trains.
Not the lifeline of the city. Its said people spend a third of their life sleeping. In Mumbai, we spend a third of our life on the train.
That place where nothing can go wrong, where as children I was safe to travel. Its a place where mumbai is united in the single aim to reach on time. Like Suketu Mehta wrote, hands stream out of the train in an attempt to catch others and bring them into the fold. Everyone helps everyone on the train. Lifelong friendships are made, crossword clubs, bhajan socities are formed.
You cant hurt us there. Its not right!!
In all this, I thank all the blogs that have covered mumbai at this time. Its the only time I have spent my evening reading people's blogs. A big thank you to blogs Dilip D'souza's factual acount of what is happening on the streets, Ultrabrown and others I have read to get an idea about what is happening. Its really so difficult for me to feel anything especially when no one I know is hurt.
Mumbai help are doing a great job by contacting people and getting them in touch with survivors and family members. Thanks and please send out the link to others.
God, I am depressed now. Why am I not there, helping people out. Why oh Why?
Other blogs I am reading:
http://www.desipundit.com/
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/
http://pajamasmedia.com/2006/07/mumbai_blasts.php - reported on all the news stories
I am on the other side of the world, readin about CAR receptors, adenoviruses and Integrins -- what the $%&% am I wasting my time here??
4 comments:
well, the transport network has always been the easiest target. and no one ever notices unidentified baggages on crowded indian trains. so they are really a soft target.
i think the question we need to ask is how does one stop this. we have no cctv cameras and no way of monitoring ppl. tonight the police are releasing some sketches based on...hold your breath...descriptions of some men who made phone calls to dubai/karachi after the blast from a PCO booth. i mean, hello. also, they are letting camera crews trample all over the wrecked carriages and i saw one journalist holding up a bag (with no gloves or anything) that he said contained one of the bombs. isn't this supposed to be vital forensic evidence?
so what i'm most angry about is the unprofessionalism with which we tackle the aftermath. think of the delhi attack just before diwali, the '93 mumbai blasts and even the kandahar hijacking. there's some hand wringing, the opposition blames the govt, an enquiry committee is constituted and it all goes back to square one.
also, talking of the aftermath. it's clear we have NO SYSTEM IN PLACE to deal with an emergency of this magnitude. think of london on 7/7 and how efficiently they put their anti-terror plan into place. the police came 30 mins late and lathi charged the poor people trying to help the dying. there was no attempt to cordon off the area (what if there were more unexploded bombs?) and no stretchers. ppl with horrific injuries were being carried on bed sheets.
we have no response system in place, and no long term plan on how to tackle terrorism. is it any wonder our big cities are a soft target??
rant over. watching tv and listening to the news has made me boiling mad.
ok, sorry for the plethora of comments. but see this
http://www.ultrabrown.com/posts/feeling-blue-seeing-red
i actually disagree. after all, when u attack a train or a crowded market you kill many people who may not have had the privilege of education or classical liberalism. but they're at the receiving end of govt policies and the terrorists' anger (hatred or whatever word one can use for it, no word i think is strong enough) towards those policies. so why should these ppl be left out of the decision making process??
ok, ok will stop ranting on your blog. i had another rant coming but will hold it off and rant in person!
Dear Buchu,
I agree that we have no emergency repsonse system and not just for a terrorist attack but also for natural disasters and the like.
I have seen some of the media coverage thanks to YouTube and CNN IBN and thought that the media were being a bit too callous.
Anyway, the media is an altogether different rant.
I agree that there is no system in place to deal with an emergency of this kind. But, can you imagine having CCTV's in Bombay train stations. I mean there is absolutely no way you can police the Mumbai railways. The delhi metro is very well policed, there are bag checks when you enter the station and police at every station, with CCTV's.
However, you only have to look at the burgeoining numbers of passengers carried by the local trains in mumbai to understand how easy it is to plant a bomb there. Can you imagine checking tickets at Churchgate, approximately 1000 people pass through those gates at any point in time!!!
The trains are a soft target not because people dont notice unidentified baggage but there is hardly any place to look around you, forget looking out for baggage.
I also think that the response is always delayed. I have never seen police and medical help arrive so late to a bomb site. Its ridiculous that people were being carried off on bed sheets.
If anything, it does bring people together.
I think Mr. UltraBrown is very wrong if he is endorsing the view that suffrage must be tied to education status.
Two reasons I think thats wrong.
1. On principle, as you quite rightly point out, its not just educated people dying during these attacks or for that matter being affected by government policies. If anything, the population least affected by a change in government are the middle class,privileged enough to read and write and criticise government. The only time they feel the pinch is when the gas prices rise or there is an increase in tax.
How many times have you heard the educated class come out on the streets or in any way make an effort to influence government policy.
2. As a practical measure, can you imagine the kind of infrastructre or machinery you would have to put in place to practice this selective voting policy!! How do you decide if someone is competent to vote? I would be surprised if any 18 year old knows a particular party's stand on issues. On the contrary, the person in the village/uneducated people have to experience this shift in policy and would be far more knowledgable about our politicians' interests at least as it affects them.
This article is so characteristic of the response post-disaster. There is a outpouring of opinion,sentiment especially that of our privileged/educated liberalists! Anything goes even if it is half-baked nonsense!! Dont people realise that everyone is most susceptible at this time and it is upto this enlightened class to keep things in perspective and not call for preposterous measures.
http://www.indiacause.com/columns/OL_050619.htm
This article written by a nuclear physicist in the US underlines my point that people with great communication skills need to temper it with restraint and sensitivity.
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