Sleepless nights for kin of many Cairo residents

Even as Egypt entered the fifth day of citizens' protests against incumbent president Hosni Mubarak, the city-based families are getting worried about the safety and security of their near and dear ones living in Cairo.

The Wanavdi-based Seema Pandey, wife of SS Pandey, director (engineering) at the Mena House Oberoi Hotel in Cairo, told DNA that all the hotel employees were living inside the hotel instead of their own homes.

According to Seema, her husband was in Pune on a holiday recently and had gone back on January 22. "We used to talk on Skype every day but since the last three days, the Internet in Egypt has been disconnected. When we spoke last, he told me not to worry. He said many people had checked into the hotel as they felt safer there. The hotel situated near the Pyramids of Giza is always well stocked," Seema said.

However, Suraj Baadkar, a Warje-based animation student, is tense because both his parents are living in Cairo.

"My parents have been living in Cairo for the last four years. I spoke to them on their home landline last Sunday. They live in an area called Maadi, which is an expat residential zone and has military presence. They told me the situation in Cairo was bad because prisons had been attacked and prisoners had taken to the streets."

According to Suraj, the Indian Embassy was trying to reach out to all Indians. "My parents' bags are packed. They are just waiting for the right time to leave," Suraj said.