It’s time for the 8:16 local again

‘My 6-year-old  knows a gun from a grenade’

A reader from Srinagar talks about uncertainty of life there

Khurshid UL Islam

Kashmir has witnessed turmoil for two decades now. Firings, blasts, kidnappings and deaths are a daily affair. There is hardly a family that hasn't suffered. Despite having more than 50,000 widows and orphans, thousands in jail, hundreds of missing youth and half widows — a term for those whose husbands are missing — we still lead a normal life. My six-year-old son can differentiate between the sound of gunfire and a grenade blast. Our children don't play in playgrounds as it is unsafe.

How is it possible? To my understanding, it has to do with our history and of course, the quantum of destruction we witness. The last 20 years have made abnormal, normal. Blasts in Mumbai were terrible for Mumbaikars because they witnessed terrorism after long, but we endure it daily. Our children are used to blasts, still they go to school.
We had a continuous curfew for two months in Srinagar. Tourism, our backbone, touched zero, hotels and houseboats waited for visitors who never came. Shopkeepers are always ready to down shutters, drivers trained to divert to safer places. It is our preparedness that comes to our rescue.

— Islam is a professor, J&K Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development (Srinagar)

WHAT'S THE GOVT DOING?

Mumbai was never safe

A taxi driver told me about the blasts, and then I saw the panic at the railway station. First, I thought of my family, but I was unable to contact them. That worried me further. I never thought Mumbai was safe and the events of the week have hardened my view. —Amol Kadam/ Jogeshwari

How did police fail this time?

The blasts took place because the government failed miserably. Mumbai was always the target of various terrorist organisations and I am sure the police must have foiled many such conspiracies before. How could they fail this time? — Mohd Quasir/ Mahim

Where was the govt machinery?

Every five years we have a new government, but no one assures us of our safety. Governments come and go without doing anything to safeguard our lives and interests. Add to it, the phone lines were down.

What is the sense in shutting down phone lines when we need it the most? Mumbai is getting worse. —Jyothi Krishnamurthy/ Goregaon

Entire machinery is to be blamed

It was the collective failure of the government, police and the intelligence agencies. They are all to be blamed for this unfortunate lapse. — Bakul Shah/ Mahim

WHAT MADE THE CITY PANIC?

Phone lines were down

My wife and her sister were in the train at Mahim that suffered the blast. She called and told me  that she was safe after which, the line snapped. I tried to call my son to tell him not to venture out, but couldn’t get through. This created more panic.

It is wrong on part of the government to shut down phone lines during such crises. At least people should be able to get in touch with their loved ones and know that they are safe. —Dilip Pai/ Borivali

I'm not sure about trains anymore

Cabbies refused to ferry us. How were we to go home? The breakdown of the transport system and the thought of being stranded was frightening. To top it, phones were not working and could not inform my family that I was okay. After the series of blasts yesterday, I am not sure that I will take a train to work anymore.  They are no longer my prefered mode of transport. —Amit Karve/ Dombivali     

Communication failure was scary

Already shaken from the blasts, Mumbai panicked even more due to jammed communication networks. We have faced transport and communication problems before, so yesterday was nothing new, but the blasts have traumatised us. —Krishnan Singh/ Bhayander

ARE YOU STILL SCARED?

People seem to be uneasy

I'm not too worried about travelling in trains. My mother didn't want me to go to work today. Things like these are a matter of luck; there's little you can do to evade them. However, people seem a little apprehensive today. Everyone is looking around and checking under the seats for suspicious objects. —Kaustav Lahila/ Andheri

What is the city coming to?

I am very scared. Now all I want is to get home early. So many blasts in a matter of minutes. Mumbai is very unsafe. On Sunday, there were the riots. What is this city coming to? I will think about going to work tomorrow. But I have no option but to take the train. This is very frightening. —Maria/ Malad

I'll always be afraid

I lost my friend to the blast near Bhayander. I am just returning from the funeral. For people like me, who have lost their near and dear ones, the trauma will last forever. For others, life will go on as usual. That's the way Mumbai is — life goes on. —Tijoriwala/ Mumbai Central

Don't have guts to watch TV

It’ll be a lie if I say that I'm absolutely fine. I am so scared that I didn't go to work today. I can't even muster the courage to see the blast footage on TV. —Seema Kapoor/ Vile Parle

SHOULD VIPs VISIT THE CITY?

They only add to confusion

Presence of VIPs will only add to the confusion and hinder the rescue work. They don't do anything constructive and are there only to play their part of looking concerned about the whole issue. When they come down to any tragedy-affected area, authorities have to shift their attention from rescue work to providing security to these VIPs.
—Jaya Guwalani/ Borivali

Ministerial visits help

I'm not sure if the politicians who visit accident sites end up doing much. However, I still feel it's important that they pay a call.

It acts like a reassurance to the victims and their kin. They tend to believe that since the minister has visited the site, the government will take prompt action. However, I agree that often, such official visits can impede the rescue and relief work. —Aditya Khaparde/ Napean Sea Road

They have to visit their voters

The VIPs ought to visit the injured because they have been brought to power by the people and it is their moral obligation to do so.

It's their responsibility to know what people are going through. And only if they assess the situation themselves, would they be able to help the victims by announcing adequate compensation schemes and facilitating medical and other relief works. — Peter Dias/ Borivali