Mumbai playing it safe after terror attacks

Musthofid ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Mumbai, India   |  Mon, 01/19/2009 6:02 PM  |  World

Nearly two months after the terrorist attacks on Nov. 26, Mumbai is taking no chances when it comes to security.

The first and only other time I visited Mumbai, I had no problem buying a mobile SIM cardI was asked only to show a copy of my passport to activate my mobile phone. Now the procedure is far more complicated.

"Do you have a local reference?" asked the owner of a phone shop in the Trident Hotel arcade.

I produced the name card of an official with the Indonesian consulate in the city, which I hoped would ease things. But no, the card was rejected.

"You have to give us a written document from your reference.sorry about that but this is the official policy we have to abide by. We did not need to do this before."

I tried another way, as recommended by a fellow traveler, by requesting the hotel where I am staying to provide me with a document that would verify my stay.

That did not work either, with the clerk saying they did not have the authority to issue such a document.

I decided to leave it at that - even if I had been cleared for a phone, it would have taken three to seven days, I was told, before the phone would be activated.

The terrorist attacks, which targeted public places and hotels, reportedly pushed the city home to 18 million people-into a state of panic. Offices, shops and schools were closed down. Almost 200 people died and about 300 were wounded.

Security is now tighter than ever.

At the gate of the Trident Hotel, the official hotel for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon that took place on Sunday, a security attendant stands on guard, sandbags stacked around him and a rifle close by.

Visitors undergo a three-stage scan, reminiscent of airport security procedures.

The traces of the mayhem are visible at the Taj Mahal hotel, a 105-year-old landmark and the site of the longest siege, where planks of plywood still cover some parts of the hotel.

Several passersby stop to stare at the buildingapparently imagining Indian commandos scrambling from room to room, furiously fighting the die-hard gunmen.

While precautions are being taken to defuse any possible incidents, for some the nightmare is still fresh, and they refuse to completely rule out the possibilities of further attacks.

"I'm still cautious about that. But I think the government has taken the careful approach policy with its heightened security," Mumbai resident Deepak Sharma said.

Life now seems to be back to normal.

The Colaba district, where there was also fighting, is alive with daily hustle and bustlea far cry from the situation a few days after the attacks.

"People were still afraid to go out," said Roni.

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