MUMBAI: Shock gave way to grief and anger yesterday as India grappled with what newspapers called its own “9/11” and protesters accused neighboring Pakistan of being behind attacks that killed 195 people.
Commandos and rescue personnel were cleaning up the wreckage of a three-day rampage when about 50 protesters gathered near the smoldering Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. India has blamed the strikes on “elements” from nuclear rival Pakistan and evidence is mounting that the Islamist gunmen may have hatched their plan there.
For relatives of the victims, the reality of the attacks was laid bare at a morgue at the J.J. Hospital in Mumbai. “For three days, we kept hearing different reports about my sister. Finally, today when I saw her, her face was blown off,” said a relative of journalist Sabina Saikia, who was killed inside the Taj Mahal hotel.
A text message circulated throughout Mumbai urging people to wear black today. Many lit candles in cities across the country yesterday as a mark of condolence.
Newspapers called the Mumbai attacks India’s own “9/11,” referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on the United States which killed about 3,000 2,973 people.
The Hindustan Times wrote: “India is under attack. The very idea of India is under attack... Playing the headless chicken is no longer an option.”
The terror assault has laid bare the poor state of government hospitals in Mumbai. Patients are complaining of chaos, inadequate facilities and many are even opting for more expensive private medical institutes.
Many are saying that perhaps the number of casualties in the terror strike would have been much lesser if government hospitals such as Cama, G.T. (Gokuladas Tejpal) and St. George had had better medical facilities.
“My brother could have been saved if he had been treated on time,” said Narayan Gupta, brother of Shiv Shankar Gupta, 35, a hawker at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), who was seriously injured when terrorists opened fire there.
He was brought to G.T. Hospital in a serious condition and later succumbed to his wounds. Shiv Shankar is survived by his wife and two children.
