Resilience of Mumbaikars to fore again in face of terror

Mumbai, Nov 27 (UNI) The 'never-say-die' attitude of the citizens of the Metropolis once again came to the fore when, a day after the worst terror strikes, the city was bustling with activity.

Except for the two five-star hotels - Hotel Trident and Taj Mahal, where the hostage drama is being played out, the rest of the city was back on its feet, though there was palpable fear among the citizens.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, which turned into a ghost area last night, after terrorists opened fire, forcing authorities to cancel services, was back to normal, as people from the far-flung suburbs alighted at the terminus to go to work in the morning. A feeling of the city's social fabric still being intact could be experienced.

However, there were less commuters than usual, with the state government announcing closure of all schools and colleges for the day following the attack and the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges closed along with the Forex and other markets.

In the rest of the city, life was back to normal with shop keepers opening their outlets for retail sales.

However, the scene at South Mumbai's business district of Nariman Point seems to have turned into a war zone.

Tension and fear engulfed the Nariman Point, Cuffe Parade and Colaba area this morning, as terrorists took shelter in the Trident Hotel and Taj Mahal Hotel nearby, holding an undisclosed number of people hostage and engaging security forces in a fierce gun-battle.

Many commercial establishments and offices in this area were shut down and people, trying to get to their work places, were turned back by police, who had cordoned off the entire area as a security measure.

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