Terror in Mumbai. Inefficiencies in our System.

It has happened again. I strongly feel that we have no sense of accountability in our system. Consider the following facts -

- NSG is stationed only in New Delhi. In case of an emergency, like this attack in Mumbai, NSG commandos have to be flown in all the way from the capital. Isn't it common sense to have an emergency and counter-terrorist reponse teams in major cities in the country? Should states contact New Delhi and wait for help be dispatched?

- Even more pathetic is the fact that these NSG commandos on their arrival in Mumbai had to be taken in local city busses - BEST, to the attack sites. Localized reponse teams will lead to precise action.

- When authorities in Mumbai requested 200 NSG commandos at around 11 pm on the night of attack, NSG headquarters realized that the only plane that can take 200 men, the IL 76, is in Chandigarh. And plane was summoned and reached Delhi at 2 am. Hadn't it been wise if they sent two or three planes to accomodate 200 commandos immediately after the request rather than wait for the jumbo flight to take all 200 at once? Or, they could have asked IAF to airlift?

- There were reports that some deaths caused to mumbai police were cases where bullets actually pierced through cops 'bullet-proof' vests. It would have been lot better if money allotted for infrastructure upgrades were used to upgrade combat devices and uniforms rather than get new cars and guest houses for senior officials.

Both quality of response and time taken to respond will obviously play a crucial role in countering these attacks. Experts say that unless a response is mounted within 30 minutes of an attack, the enemy can assume key defensive positions. And NSG reached Mumbai nearly 9 hours after the attack. More than the abilities of our commandos, the efficiency of our system needs to be addressed to. Good that we were able to keep the death toll to around 170 but the damage could haveen reduced drastically further with good response.

Nevertheless, I am very proud of NSG commandos. It is also a good sign that India, for once, did not give in to any submission. There should not be any negotiations with terrorists, lest it will only make them ask for more. Mumbai has bounced back many a time and I am confident it will cripple to normalcy. But what affected citizens more is the apathy of administrators. I was shocked to hear the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, RR Patil, refer this incident as 'small'. It is 'small' to politicians as long as it doesn't happen to them. It is upto the citizens to refrain from getting drawn into useless issues on caste and regional hatred and first stand up as Indians. Once we overcome hurdles among ourselves, we can vote worthy politicians and help India become an organized country.