Mumbai scared, but not beaten as terror ends

Mumbai, Nov 29 (UNI) The commercial capital of the country, which witnessed one its worst terror attacks ever, breathed a sigh of relief after the combined security forces successfully freed the city from the clutches of the terrorists today.

About ten perpetrators of the attacks, beseiged two luxury hotels and one residential area in downtown Mumbai since Wednesday.

The terrorists wreathed havoc in this commercial hub of the city by capturing the Nariman House in Colaba, the century old heritage structure Taj Mahal Hotel and the Trident hotel killing scores of innocent people and held many as hostages.

The citizens of South Mumbai, who had been holed up in their houses since Wednesday night not knowing when the ordeal would end finally took to the streets in joy.

The shops in this part of the city opened after two days as the curfew was lifted and people carried out their activities normally as usual.

Around 20,000 people paid their tributes to the heroes at the Shivaji Park this noon, where Heman Karkare, the former Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief was consigned to flames with full state honours after he was killed while fighting with the terrorists. The small hotels and eating houses in and around the Gateway of India, where the Taj Mahal hotel is located, also let out a cheer as after two days they saw their business pick up with people once again frequenting their places for breakfast and snacks as Mumbai limped back to normalcy.

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