By IANS,
New Delhi : Three weeks later the insecurity will have ebbed, three months later it might be just a fearful memory. But three days after terrorism came visiting the capital again, people were Tuesday still reeling from the impact of the serial bombings that killed 23 unsuspecting people.
With one more reminder that terrorists can strike anywhere anytime, residents of the capital said no place was safe. Bomb blasts, they said, had become part of city life and one should learn to live with them.
“It is sad to say Delhi is no longer a safe place. Wherever you go, a sense of insecurity grips you. So long as you are safe, you should feel happy,” Radhey Shyam Bhardwaj, a 52-year old government employee, who lives in west Delhi’s Vikaspuri area, told IANS.
He has told his family members to avoid crowded places. But knows that it is not realistic in the long run.
“There is no option for them too. They need to go to malls, markets and theatres. Blasts have become a routine thing in India now, and one just has to learn to live with all this,” Bhardwaj added in a stoic note.
Though a detachment might be already in place, the lack of security in trains, malls, high security zones, busy markets and parks has people infuriated.
Said Gunjana, a resident of Vasundhara Enclave in east Delhi: “At times, I feel like shifting to a smaller city. Delhi does not generate a sense of security at all.”
She was shocked to know that the police recovered two live bombs from India Gate’s Children Park, a place she had planned to visit Saturday evening — when a series of bombs exploded through crowded markets all over the city killing 23 and injuring at over 100.
“At metros, passengers are frisked but not so thoroughly. It is done in a non-serious manner. You can take your car into a mall’s parking lot without getting checked,” said Sanjay Kumar, a resident of south Delhi’s Pushp Vihar.
Providing security in a city with nearly 15 million people is a major challenge. The city has around 350 small and major shopping malls and complexes.
“But does that mean the government will not unplug the loopholes and deal with unscrupulous elements with an iron hand, thereby letting innocent people become their victims,” Kumar asked.
Mohan Lal, a 47-year-old auto-rickshaw driver from east Delhi’s Seemapuri, said he is scared when someone carrying a briefcase gets in. An autorickshaw driver had died when an explosive laden briefcase went off in Paharganj, a business hub in central Delhi, in October 2005.
“I do not allow any passenger to keep his bag or briefcase behind while getting down to meet someone. You cannot rely upon anyone when Delhi has become a target for terrorists,” Lal explained to IANS.
Terrorism is a global phenomena and no city in the world is safe from it. That was rudely reinforced in the Indian capital Saturday.