Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Mumbai: On a bouncy track

Since the onset of July, things have been really bad for Mumbaikars..... first the rains made people remember the horrors of last year (the legendary 26th july '05), then the Shivsainiks went on a rampage and now these serial bomb blasts killing more tha a hundred people (and the number's still growing). The blasts struck at a time when the rush in local trains was at its peak, when people were returning from their offices, and that makes them much more cruel and harmful. But the fact that only first class bogies were targeted is quite strange, it’s really hard to guess what kind of message these terrorists, or whoever did it, want to send. If they wanted to kill more people, why did they place the bomb in a relatively less crowded place?
Expecting any major action on Mumbai police’s part or even the Central Government’s part is worthless, what can you expect from a country which kept mum even when its parliament was attacked. And even if the people behind this massacre get caught what punishment will they get, 14 years of imprisonment at most. Is this what they deserve?? They deserve much more than this, they deserve a kind of punishment which sends out a message, that instills a fear in the hearts of those who even think of walking on the same lines as these people.

Coming to the other two tragic incidents that Mumbai faced early this month, while the heavy downpours were dealt with much more precaution by the administration, as compared to last year, even a government led by anti-Shivsena parties did little to stop them from destroying public property and disrupting harmony in the city. Over the years the sena seems to have got some kind of license to go on a rampage everytime it wishes. Be it Valentine’s Day or any other issue, they do what they want, administration seems to be completely helpless in front of them. The kind of comments and reasons you get from the leaders of this party is all so ridiculous, after the recent rampage, some sena leaders called it a strengthening act for the party, what else can be expected from a party with such leaders. Even after the Supreme Court fined them for imposing a Mumbai wide strike for unworthy reasons, they haven’t understood what a strike of this volume means to a city like Mumbai. Actually it’s not their fault, it’s the court’s fault, the amount of fine imposed is so meager that these parties and politicians hardly get concerned. The fines should actually be of the same order as losses, only then will they start thinking before they act!!