An hour or so ago there was news about fresh firing at the CST railway station. But the authorities have confirmed that it was just a rumor and nothing actually had happened. To prevent spread of panic all news channels in Mumbai has been blocked. But, I can still watch them on the internet. As most of the channels provide live feed on their respective websites. The softwares like 'LiveStation' also have feeds from the news channels.
Last night had been a sleepless night for me. I was tired and wanted to sleep but was not able to. So, I went back to the common TV room and as I had expected, there were a number of people in the room glued to the news channels. The security forces had rescued some people from the Nariman House. NSG had still not taken the control of the building. There was another operation going on in the Oberoi hotel where the floors were being cleared from the top. The drama continued for a long time and it was 3:00 am when I finally decided to go to sleep.
Today morning I got up by a call from my aunt and uncle. I asked them what the situation was? They told me that the NSG forces were dropped onto the Nariman House via a chopper. I got up and went straight to the TV room to find out the condition. The operation was still on. The police said there was altleast on terrorist in the Taj and number of people still in the hotel although not as hostage. The police have now confirmed that the Oberoi hotel operation has been completed. About 108 hostages have been rescued from the Oberoi. The gun shots can still be heard from inside the Taj. The battle there still continues. I just hope that it will get over soon.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
A Wednesday!! (Terror in Mumbai)
I was sitting in my office at the TIFR when I heard a loud sound. The windows of the room shuddered. It could not have been a cracker. But, as I heard it I still continued to work. A few minutes later a second sound was heard. And then my cellphone begins to ring. I was getting a call from my uncle. I picked up the phone and my uncle asked me if I was alright and where was I? I replied, that I was fine and in the institute. I asked them what the matter was and he told me about the news he was watching. There was gun firing going on in the region not very far (about 4-5 Km) from where I live. He also asked if my sister (who also stays in Mumbai) was fine too as they were unable to reach her on the phone. I said that I will find out and let them know.
A few hours ago my friends had asked me if I would go to “Naturals Ice-cream Parlor” and I had declined the offer. Naturals is on the Marine Drive not very far from the Oberoi Hotel at Nariman Point. I remembered that even after one and a half hour they had not returned back to the institute. It was about 10:30 pm in my watch. I tried to reach them on phone but the network was generally busy; I was unable to reach them. Worried I told another friend to contact them if he could. He too was unable to reach them. We became a little worried. News was coming in from many places. Many people were on phone informing there family and loved ones of their well being. But some people were caught up in the middle of the action and I had no way to reach them. We could only hope. We tried calling them a few more times before at last Rakesh finally managed to get them. They told us that they were fine and there were reaching the institute. That was a big relief to us.
On their arrival we heard their story. One of them was still shaken by the incident. They told us about the blasts they heard and the people they saw running around who were just asking everyone to run. They took shelter for sometime near a building and then found a way back to TIFR. Got into a taxi and reached the institute.
In the meanwhile people around were trying to get as much information as possible from the internet news services. Thanks to "LiveStation" I was watching CNN IBN live on the computer. We learnt from the news that terrorists had attacked various places around Colaba - Cafe Leopold, Oberoi Hotel, Taj Mahal Hotel, Metro Cinema Junction, CST Railway station, Coma Hospital and Ville Parle. We then moved to the TV room in the hostel where a number of people were glued to the news. Everyone interested in knowing the latest development. It was then we learnt that some of the people were stuck in a theater; they had informed that they were fine and they did would be spending the night in the theather. The theater was closed from within so that no one could enter it. This theater was not a place of attack.
The news channel then reported that three High ranking Police officials had been killed in the encounter. This included ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. The news channels were screaming that this was the worst thing that had ever happened.
It was 2:30 am and I went to sleep. In the morning I went back to the news room and found that the situation was no better. Infact the hotel Taj Mahal was on fire. Firemen were trying to putoff the fire. People were kept hostage in the hotels and at Nariman House (Nariman Bhavan). The NSG (National Security Guard) had been called, the army had been brought in and the battle was still on. There were gun shots from withing the buildings. A number of people were rescued and many more remain to be rescued.
As I write these last sentence the operation is still going on at the Taj, Oberoi and the Nariman House.
A few hours ago my friends had asked me if I would go to “Naturals Ice-cream Parlor” and I had declined the offer. Naturals is on the Marine Drive not very far from the Oberoi Hotel at Nariman Point. I remembered that even after one and a half hour they had not returned back to the institute. It was about 10:30 pm in my watch. I tried to reach them on phone but the network was generally busy; I was unable to reach them. Worried I told another friend to contact them if he could. He too was unable to reach them. We became a little worried. News was coming in from many places. Many people were on phone informing there family and loved ones of their well being. But some people were caught up in the middle of the action and I had no way to reach them. We could only hope. We tried calling them a few more times before at last Rakesh finally managed to get them. They told us that they were fine and there were reaching the institute. That was a big relief to us.
On their arrival we heard their story. One of them was still shaken by the incident. They told us about the blasts they heard and the people they saw running around who were just asking everyone to run. They took shelter for sometime near a building and then found a way back to TIFR. Got into a taxi and reached the institute.
In the meanwhile people around were trying to get as much information as possible from the internet news services. Thanks to "LiveStation" I was watching CNN IBN live on the computer. We learnt from the news that terrorists had attacked various places around Colaba - Cafe Leopold, Oberoi Hotel, Taj Mahal Hotel, Metro Cinema Junction, CST Railway station, Coma Hospital and Ville Parle. We then moved to the TV room in the hostel where a number of people were glued to the news. Everyone interested in knowing the latest development. It was then we learnt that some of the people were stuck in a theater; they had informed that they were fine and they did would be spending the night in the theather. The theater was closed from within so that no one could enter it. This theater was not a place of attack.
The news channel then reported that three High ranking Police officials had been killed in the encounter. This included ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. The news channels were screaming that this was the worst thing that had ever happened.
It was 2:30 am and I went to sleep. In the morning I went back to the news room and found that the situation was no better. Infact the hotel Taj Mahal was on fire. Firemen were trying to putoff the fire. People were kept hostage in the hotels and at Nariman House (Nariman Bhavan). The NSG (National Security Guard) had been called, the army had been brought in and the battle was still on. There were gun shots from withing the buildings. A number of people were rescued and many more remain to be rescued.
As I write these last sentence the operation is still going on at the Taj, Oberoi and the Nariman House.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)