Reported By:
| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 27, 2015, 03:59 PM IST
Seven years after 26/11, Mumbai remains as vulnerable to a terror attack as it had been on that fateful night. It had taken only 10 terrorists from Pakistan who had reached the shores of Mumbai on a dinghy to hold the country’s financial capital to ransom. The city was stunned; the nation was at a loss for an appropriate response while the world reacted in shock and horror to the carnage. In a series of co-ordinated assaults — which is now being compared with the recent Paris attacks for the uncanny similarities — the terrorists killed 166 people, including 18 security personnel and injured many more. The role of Pakistan in unleashing mayhem in Mumbai was proven beyond doubt — the most telling evidence being the lone terrorist Ajmal Kasab who was captured alive and later hanged by the Indian judicial system.
The sad reality is the Indian government hasn’t been able to put in place an effective counter-terrorism framework, in spite of being at the receiving end. In all these years, it has failed to persuade Pakistan to handover the masterminds who continue to enjoy state patronage. David Headley, currently lodged in US prison, is least likely to return to India to face trial because American authorities won’t let go of him for obvious security and strategic reasons. That leaves India in more-or-less the same situation it had found itself back then.
Coming back to Mumbai, the deplorable state of its security preparedness is best exemplified by the ramshackle coastal security outpost near the Bandra-Worli sealink that threatens to blow away in the face of strong winds. Propped up by bamboo poles and covered with aluminium sheets, the makeshift structure is manned by two policemen armed with primitive rifles. Other outposts at Worli, Versova and at Badhwar Park (where the terrorists had landed) are ludicrous apologies. Mumbai’s shoreline as well as the state’s continue to remain as porous. Even now several unregistered fishing boats and trawlers can be spotted along the coast. Forget intelligence sharing, there is apparently no coordination among the Navy, coast guard and Mumbai police. Maharashtra government had resolved to hold regular meetings with the country’s intelligence chiefs, but since 2011 they haven’t met even once.
When it comes to state-of-the-art equipment, Mumbai police is still living in the stone age. The bomb scanner purchased with a few crore rupees is gathering dust. The amphibious vehicles are defunct since the Singapore-based manufacturing company had refused to undertake maintenance work. The safety of the force stands severely compromised because of the shortage of bullet-proof jackets and sophisticated assault weapons. The much-touted answer to terror — the elite Force I — is now operating from a small centre in Kalina instead of the sprawling training campus it was promised.
Mumbai police continues to be dogged by manpower crunch that has made regular policing a mammoth task. The force is yet to receive training to deal with crunch situations. The Centre too has dithered when it comes to crucial projects like the NATGRID that would put all security agencies of the country on a common grid for seamless flow of intelligence information.
Though chances of a similar attack appear remote, the fear is Mumbai will once again be left bleeding in case of a 26/11 redux. It is time for governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra to step up their efforts to shore up coastal security without any further delay.
