Bombs, blood become way of life in Mumbai

MUMBAI – Bombs and blood on the streets of Mumbai are a grim reminder for local people of the traumatic 2008 assault on the city, leaving many with a sense of vulnerability after repeated attacks.

Newspaper headlines summed up the city’s increasingly weary familiarity with deadly violence, as police began a hunt for the culprits and the shattered families of the 17 victims reflected on lives cut tragically short.

“Yet Again,” said the Times of India after the triple blasts that struck at rush-hour in the nation’s commercial hub on Wednesday.

“Hit Again!” said its tabloid sister title the Mumbai Mirror.

For many, the carnage in the Zaveri Bazaar jewellery quarter, the Opera House diamond trading hub and the commercial and residential district of Dadar, revived memories of the night of November 26, 2008.

Then, 10 heavily armed Islamist militants stormed three luxury hotels, the city’s main railway station, a popular tourist restaurant and a Jewish cultural centre, killing 166 and injuring more than 300.

Natwarlal Rotawan said he was watching news reports of Wednesday’s attacks with his daughter, Devika, who was just 10 years old when she was seriously injured in the railway assault.

“She was asking last night why has the country not done anything about terrorists,” the 45-year-old told AFP.

“Terrorists are all across the city and the country. It’s our politicians who have caused all this. They are not bothered or affected by poor innocent people dying in the country.”

Several hundred people have died in Mumbai attacks over the last two decades.

Seven bombs ripped through packed carriages of trains on the city’s rail network in July 2006, killing nearly 190. Three years earlier, more than 50 died in blasts at the Gateway of India monument and Zaveri Bazaar.

In 1993, more than 250 people were killed in a series of explosions across the city then known as Bombay.

“The common man suffers the most in the end,” said Ravinder Singh, 48, who runs a spare parts shop in the Opera House district, just metres (yards) from where the home-made bomb went off in a crowded side-street.

Much is made of the resilience of the estimated 18 million people who live in Mumbai, where thousands of poor, mostly rural migrants turn up each day in the hope of a better life.

India’s Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday praised the “resolute response”, as shops, businesses and street stalls reopened and the trains ran as usual, despite the attacks and driving monsoon rains.

“Life goes on as normal,” said Vinod Hiranandani, an estate agent who heard Wednesday’s blasts. “The daily wage earners have to earn their daily bread. It’s a tough place.”

But many, increasingly, don’t want to be seen as resilient but instead want the government to make good on their promises after “26/11” to improve security.

“No Lessons Learnt”, the front page of the Mid-day tabloid declared, asking: “When will the mayhem stop?”

For people like Jerry D’Souza, who has lived in Mumbai for 65 years, a piece of the city’s soul dies with each bloody attack and loss of life.

“Everyone talks about the resilience Mumbaikars show after a blast or an attack but to me it means that we have become machines and we operate under all circumstances,” he said.

“This city is fast losing its charm. It is known for its stock market and Bollywood but now it is also known for attacks.”

Chhagan Bhujbal, public works minister with the state government of Maharashtra, said Mumbai reputation made it a prime target for militants.

“An attack on a city like Mumbai rocks the entire nation and gets the attention of the world, which is what terror groups want,” he told the Hindustan Times.

For many here, the countdown to the next attack has already started.