The Hindu Business Line : Empty trains, easy traffic flow tell the tale of fear

A full 40 hours after gunmen laid siege to the two iconic city hotels and a five-storeyed building in south Mumbai, there were few signs that the city was anywhere close to returning to normal.

Perhaps the pulse of Mumbai, the stock market, reflected the gloomy sentiment in early trade but gathered a little steam later to end almost flat over its previous close.

The suburban Mumbai rail network, which transports close to 65 lakh people a day, for once showed up near-empty cars; these are normally packed up to the footboards, not to mention those on the rooftops. Armed police could be seen closely inspecting the trains.

For the few who did commute, the deserted platforms and empty coaches only spelt fear. They could be seen making their way to the coaches which had some commuters on board. Many taxis in the south Mumbai area refused to ply and turned down passenger requests, citing safety reasons.

Even in the suburbs, there were no long queues of auto-rickshaws, which otherwise almost barricade entrances to the railway stations. At the road margins where one rarely sees auto-rickshaws parked, one saw the vehicles lined up by the dozen. The usual traffic snarls that choke the main and arterial roads were absent. BEST buses for once were seen speeding. Few private vehicles were on the road and the anxiety on the faces of the drivers showed that they wanted to be off the road at the earliest.

However, except for some business establishments and shops in the Colaba area, almost all the shops elsewhere in the city were open.

Rumours galore

Rumours flew thick and fast in south Mumbai. Around mid-day there was “news” that the terrorists had ‘revisited’ the Chhatrapati Shivaji (better known as Victoria Terminus) railway station and opened fire indiscriminately. A couple of railway staff at the terminus unwittingly made things worse by telling people that they had been instructed to stay on in their offices on the first floor.

To compound matters, a routine municipal corporation drive against hawkers near the railway stations precipitated the matter as hawkers were seen rushing away from there. Corporations too appeared to have caught the rumour fever and majors such as the Tatas asked their staff to leave early.

More Stories on : Terrorism | Lifestyle | Maharashtra

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Cyclone Nisha’s remnant proves a soaker

GDP grows at 7.6% in July-Sept

Tax revenues decline in Oct

Currency futures gain strength on volatile rupee

Check out from hotel, airline stocks

Trident Oberoi secured

Empty trains, easy traffic flow tell the tale of fear

Will safety concerns weigh on auto investments?

Platinum prices may decline to $700/oz

Insurance cos bracing for large claims

Markets this week

Market volatile; sentiment hit

More than 20 firms line up for BSNL’s WiMax project

YES Bank’s Ashok Kapur killed in terror attack