By Rehan Ansari, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: On the eve of this past Christmas, Mumbai Police issued another terror alert in the maximum city which provoked the executive president of Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray to ridicule their announcement. SMSes are being circulated among Mumbaikers asking them to be watchful of abandoned vehicles. They are in a state of panic and are afraid of celebrating festivals.
Mumbaikars are anxious, worried and nervous. Everyone has a question, in the word of Uddhav Thackeray: “Why this information is released before every festival season? Are people supposed to celebrate or keep searching for the terrorists?”
Dolphy D’souza, President of Mumbai Catholic Sabha and vice-president of All India Catholic Union, is also concerned. He said, “Issuing terror alert is only a briefing on sensationalism. The responsibility to handle terrorism lies with the Government and Police have to be vigilant 24X7 and not only at the time of festivals.”
Ghulam Mohammed Siddiqui, a Mumbaiker, sees it as a failure of our agencies. He said, “After successive failure to come up with any meaningful measures to win the confidence of the people in their efficiency and credibility, Mumbai police seems to resort to deliberate scare-mongering to appear at the helm of the affair.”
Terror alerts are mostly issued on festivals or about the religious places like Siddhyvinayak, Bandra Church, Jama Masjid which might disturb communal harmony. Ghulam Mohammed Siddiqui opined, “In the event alerts create avoidable panic on festive occasion and even poisons harmonious community relations among the people. It’s a most counterproductive exercise.”
Dolphy D’souza also echoed the same sentiment. He said that every time terror alert about religious places and on the festivals will create fear psychosis among citizens and in a way will help terrorist because they also like the people to be scared all the time. He suspected that some one really is trying to divert the attention of the people. He also advised Mumbaikers to relax but be cautious, not panicky.
Dolphy D’souza is not happy with the media and accused it as sensational loving. He said, “Media loves sensationalism and can’t miss these kinds of opportunities.”
But media, being accused for sensationalism, is in dilemma. In this kind of situation the only source of information for the reporters are our agencies and police and they also have to inform the people about the possible threat.
Rashid Akhtar, a senior journalist in the financial capital of the country, reporting for Urdu news, Jeddah said, “Journalists must come out in the street and see for themselves what the police are doing. Like this time on Thursday Police declared terror alert but on the next day, the top cops of the city Mr. Himanshu Roy of Crime Branch and Maharashtra ATS Chief Rakesh Maria went on leave till 1st of January 2011.”
It’s to be noted, he further added, that the Maharashtra Government have denied leaves to police personnel. Rashid Akhtar recalled an incident when Mr. A.N. Roy was the Police commissioner of Mumbai and he declared an alert. He said when we journalists asked him after nothing happened he said, “the alert was so sound and people were so vigilant that terrorist went into hiding.
The journalist urged that the People must ask the Police to do their duties and do their duty to provide safety and security to the countrymen.