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Journalism of Courage
Shell-shocked, numbed Mumbai halts in its tracks as schools, colleges and even BSE down shutters
While NSG and naval commandos on Thursday mounted a final assault to flush out terrorists holed up inside the Taj and Oberoi Trident hotels along with guests, the Maximum City was not its usual self. Parts of the city, which are usually choked with traffic and bustle with activity, wore a deserted look a day after the terrorists staged a daring strike on multiple points in south Mumbai with gunfire, killing more than 100 and taking scores as hostages.
Schools and colleges remained shut and private firms sent out SMSs to their employees asking them to either work from home or take a day off.
The Marine Drive and other places in south Mumbai, which usually see traffic snarls, were nearly empty, only marred by a number of police barricades.
St Xavier8217;s College at Dhobi Talao, which is adjacent to Cama Hospital where a fierce encounter took place on Wednesday night, was among the colleges that had been declared shut for the day.
A pall of gloom descended on St Xavier8217;s, which mourned the loss of one of its illustrious alumni.
8220;Additional CP Ashok Kamte was an alumnus of this college. The eldest daughter of the slain Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare was also our alumnus. Only last year, she had passed out from our college, topping the political science stream,8221; said principal Dr Frazer Mascerenhas, who lives on the college campus.
8220;Around 10.30 pm on Wednesday, we could hear gunfire and three loud explosions from the neighbouring Cama Hospital. I went around the campus to see if everything was alright inside,8221; he added.
At 11 pm on Wednesday, all students were informed through SMSes that the college would remain shut on Thursday.
While the Central Railway saw a 25 per cent dip in the number of commuters on Thursday, supplies were hit in parts of south Mumbai. Office attendance in Nariman Point was poor, and those who did show up found their caterers had not received supplies.
While many whose offices are located in buildings around the Hilton spent the Wednesday night at the workplace, diners at the restaurants in the area spent a tense night watching television since the area outside was cordoned off. Most of the patrons had to wait till the sunrise to go home.
CITY SKIPS A FINANCIAL BEAT
The financial nerve-centres of the city 8212; the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange 8212; downed their shutters as well and it seemed the city8217;s heart had stopped beating for some time.
Vijay Rao, a partner at an advertising agency near the Bombay Stock Exchange, said: 8220;It made no sense going to office today because my office is around five minutes away from the Taj Hotel and all our clients too have their offices in the area. Almost all of them have stayed away. I do not know if I will go tomorrow. It depends on how the developments unfold.
Glued to TV channels through the Wednesday night, principals of most of the educational institutions in south Mumbai decided to shut their colleges on Thursday even before the government made an appeal to this effect.
Meera Isaacs, principal of Cathedral and John Connon School at Fort, said, 8220;We do not want to put our children through this. Safety of students is our prime concern. Besides, we are also located in the Fort area, where most of the action is taking place.8221;
At Sir J J Fort Boys8217; High School near CST, 8220;chain calling8221; ensured that students knew well in advance of the school8217;s decision to remain shut. Several events scheduled for Thursday, including internal exams and a seminar by the Indian Academy of Science, were also postponed.
University of Mumbai website posted a message saying 8220;due to the present situation in Mumbai, all university examinations are postponed till further notice8221;.
Intelligence lapse, admits Patil
Admitting to an intelligence failure leading to the coordinated terror attacks in the city, the state government said it had not received any information in this regard from any agency.
Asked if intelligence agencies from Gujarat had tipped off the state, Deputy CM R R Patil said the state had not received any information in this regard from any intelligence agency. He said preliminary information pointed out that the terrorists had entered the city from the sea and docked their boat at Colaba near the Gateway of India. Meanwhile, CM Vilasrao Deshmukh said the state would coordinate with Navy and the Coast Guards to pre-empt such attacks in the future.
