Mumbaikars: The real bravehearts

MUMBAI: Mumbai''s resilience has time and again been tested with bomb explosions at regular intervals at various places. However, they seem to be enduring all this with great guts.
The test was at its peak on Monday when the metro once again witnessed a fresh round of bomb blasts, this time two triggering off at short interval at different places claiming over 50 lives.
Panic or fear after such incidents remained for a while. But the people quickly come out of it. After the Monday blasts, Mumbai came to normalcy within a few hours. It was only the road traffic that was affected to some extent for next two days. In 1993, the Mumbai stock exchange, which was devastated in the blast, started functioning normally within 48 hours. The then Chief Minister Mr Sharad Pawar played a vital role in restoring normalcy with speed.
However, their resilience is often taken for insensitivity. Even if this is true one can not dismiss that the positive qualities of Mumbaikars certainly outweigh the negative and it needs appreciation as has rightly been done by the former governor of Maharashtra, Dr P C Alexander. He sent a letter to the chief minister on Tuesday appreciating the way Mumbaikars faced the tragedy.
What Mumbaikars showed to the world, like they did in 1993 after the 13 blasts that rocked the city one after another, is that apart from their resilience it is their helpful nature that helps them overcome such stressful times. This quality is essential for citizens of places which are constantly under terrorist threats.
On Monday, people on the streets were the first to rush for rescue work. They tried to help in whatever way they could. It was they who phoned the nearest government hospitals and asked them to be prepared for a large number of casualties.
At the time of the Mulund blast too, it was a local resident staying near the municipal hospital who informed the hospital. He even telephoned the local chemists and arranged for medicine and cotton, bandages etc. He also asked all youngsters in his building to be ready at the hospital to donate blood, if the need arises. In 1993, people queued to donate blood following an appeal.
At such situations, however, one is forced to question the efficiency of the Mumbai Police? It''s time they learn a lesson.
All the blasts during the last few months have clearly showed a complete failure of the intelligence. The intelligence failure is viewed with more seriousness by Mumbaikars following media reports of rampant corruption in the police force and at the political level, open sale of top posts and transfers for monetary considerations.
Earlier, the police had a great network of informers. This network is however, not being exploited and proving to be ineffective. Officers considered to be non-efficient or corrupt are posted in intelligence department. Many times transfer to this sensitive department is considered as punishment and the transferred officer is not willing to put in his best. This heavily affects the lives of the Mumbikars.
The Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde can change this if he wants. He is well versed with this department as he himself was a part of the police before jumping into politics. It is he who should take some steps to improve the situation and help the Mumbaikars.