Blasts have become commonplace in India. Each blast follows a predictable pattern in the country. People die, places destroyed, the common man comes through in the hour of crisis with exemplary courage and brotherhood, and the Government of India expresses shock, anger, and many other emotions all over the media, and some big politicians head out to the blast site and shed crocodile tears and announce compensation to the dead and injured. A few days, weeks later the brouhaha dies down, the people get on living their lives, and the government gets back to being the impotent, incompetent government that it was.
This cycle is a near certain occurance in almost every national tragedy, and Mumbai blasts seemed no different. Heres the sad thing about the country, it still has to feel pain for all its parts. For example, the rest of the country doesn't give much attention to our north-east, and say if there was a tragedy in a remote village in Manipur and 300 lives were lost, I am sure the uproar would have been lost sooner than later. The same is the case with Kashmir. People in the rest of the country seem to be taking tragedies in our north-east and Kashmir for granted, and any such occurance does not draw an extra dram of anger and resolve from either our media and most certainly not from our government.
But Mumbai is a different story. Being the economic heart, and being the one true Indian product, a tragedy in Mumbai generates interest and anger. The Mumbai blasts in '93 had everyone saying, never again. Everyone except the respective governments that is. The underworld remained the same, and more crime and anti-national activity only added to it.
So when the 11/7 blasts occured, once again the people of Mumbai came through, just like they did when the city was paralysed by floods which the bloody netas had promised were taken care of. But this time people wanted the government to take action. They wanted the netas to fight the enemies of the state and they wanted results. Of course most of us probably know that the government's response since then has been just as confused and pusillanimous as it has always been. But the anger of the people did spur them into taking some decisions on the domestic front. It seems security at public places is being stepped up, the police modernization plan is being revived, etc etc.
An important development was the establishment of the RAW office at Lucknow. This is a welcome step, because now RAW can be closest to the biggest bunch of traitors and anti-nationals while keeping an eye out for all the dirty dealings on the UP-Nepal border.
Govt to unveil mega city security plan
NEW DELHI: A mega city security plan is proposed to be put in place in several cities to deal with terror attacks, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The government has also decided to raise 300 battalions of Central para-military forces fully equipped with modern weapons and communication system, Patil said in his reply to a marathon discussion on increasing incidents of terrorist violence in the country.
He said a sum of Rs 4,184 crore would be spent for modernisation of Central para-military forces. To deal with terror and other violent incidents, it has been decided to allow Maharashtra government to raise two battalions of Indian Reserve Foce at a cost of Rs 100 crore, he said.
Patil said India needs a mega city plan to protect its big cities from terrorist attacks and cameras need to be installed on a large scale. The Minister announced that a security plan for the Delhi Metro is almost complete and Kolkata Metro, and those proposing to have a metro like Bangalore, can implement the same if it is suitable to them.
The Home Minister said metro rails will be given full security with all assistance from the Centre. He said more manpower and modern gadgets will be required and experiences of other countries in dealing with similar situation will be shared.
He said the government has almost put in place a plan to tackle terrorists hiding in forests. He said states have to frame mega city policies and Centre will extend all kind of help.
Condemning the "dastardly" act of terror in Mumbai, Patil said there was a need to revamp the security system and this should include use of helicopters and other modern equipment. Stating the Railways and various ministries and departments are engaged in a plan to provide better security, Patil said "if necessary, laws can be changed and new laws can be made".
He said the coordination between Railways and the state police needed to be tuned up and this aspect is being looked into by the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board. The Minister said soon necessary steps would be taken and this would include infusion of new technology.
Patil said once Mumbai prepared a mega city security plan and forwarded it to the Centre, the "Government of India will definitely look at this plan and if found suitable, the same plan can be used for other mega cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore".
He said the government would also take measures to sensitise the authorities in vital installations. Patil said the Centre had provided vital information to states on possible terror attacks though sometimes it could falter on the exact place of attack.
The Minister said cameras would play a major role in help maintain vigil against any attack and the Parliament terror attack was foiled to a great extent due to camera facilities.
He said the government would look into the possibility of installing more cameras at sensitive places. Stressing on the need to augment police forces, Patil said on an average there was one policeman for a population of 740-750 in India as against one police personnel for 82 citizens in Russia. In India, if one takes into account the use of police force to meet requirement of issuing summons and notices, the ratio would decline to one policeman for 900 people.
Patil said about Rs 314 crore are given for meeting security related expenses and this excluded funds for modernisation and construction of new jails. He said a sum of Rs 192 crore has been provided for construction of new jails.
He also said the Government was keen on bringing about all round economic development to prevent the people from getting misguided and added that special emphasis was being laid on the northeastern region and naxal-hit areas.
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Air patrol in Mumbai, Delhi to check terrorism
Stung by the Mumbai blasts and with clear indications that there was not going to be any let up in the terror offensive against India, Centre is considering introducing helicopter patrol in the Capital and Mumbai as part of a larger plan to protect bigger cities.
Home minister Shivraj Patil said the Capital, along with Mumbai and other metropolitan cities, are being encouraged to install a network of CCTVs and cameras in the lines of Singapore as part of measures that may have to be put in place to deter and investigate terror-related crimes.
The helicopters, proposed to be made available to the police in New Delhi and Mumbai, will be equipped with sophisticated gadgets and high-beam lights to better patrol the lanes and by-lanes of the two metropolis.
Patil, who was replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said similar measures can be considered for other metros - Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore - if the experience of New Delhi and Mumbai turns out to be beneficial.
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But as Mr. Arun Shourie said recently, third class governance can't give first-class response to terrorism. And that is what this government is, a third rate entity that does not care about the country, but only about its own hold on power.
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