Can hidden cameras improve railway security in Mumbai?

[neutrino]

I was browsing through BBC's news site and saw this. Turned on the TV and it's on every news channel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5169332.stm

I hope the members from Mumbai are alright.

 

[arunbg]

Was just watching the news bulletin myself.
Communication is completely disrupted. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility yet. The capital is on high alert too.
The events arise deja vu of the London blasts though.

I hope vaisakh is all right.

 

[neutrino]

Was just watching the news bulletin myself.
Communication is completely disrupted. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility yet. The capital is on high alert too.
The events arise deja vu of the London blasts though.

I hope vaisakh is all right.

It's more like the deja vu of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Mumbai_bombings" in the same city.

Now they think there has been 7 blasts, all of them along a local railway line during rush hour, with 70-80 people dead.

 

[hypatia]

That is such sad news, a very sad day indeed.

 

[Evo]

They are now saying 8 blasts and 147 dead. There are such sick people in this world.

 

[Gokul43201]

I completely missed this.

Over 160 dead and about 500 injured.

 

[Astronuc]

The last I heard was 163 dead and more than 400 injured. The death toll is likely to increase.

Very deliberate and very evil.

This is not the way to address greivances, political or otherwise.

The Mumbai blasts came hours after suspected Islamist militants killed seven people, six of them tourists, in grenade attacks in Indian Kashmir's main city, Srinagar, police said, the most concerted targeting of civilians in months.

Reuters News

 

[pallidin]

Addressing greivances is not the goal of terrorists, rather, it is to create them.
It must be remembered that the terrorist mentality and value system is much different from common normalities most other people share.

For terrorists, "militant action" it is not a grievance response, it is a demand.
This comes in 2 flavors. The first is this: "Your ideology and all adherents and collaborators are worthy of full destruction"
The second is similar: "If you do not convert to our ideology you are worthy of death and it is my duty and honor to kill you"

Terrorists do not act on grievances, they act on demands. They are militant thugs and militant criminals. When an innocent baby is shredded into pieces during one of their bomb blasts, they laugh and consider it "good"

 

[Moonbear]

My friend's roommate's mother was on one of the trains. My friend and her roommate are both from Bombay. My friend's family is all okay and accounted for, but her roommate isn't sure. She knows her mom was either on one of the trains involved in the explosion, or one very close by, and is alive, but when she spoke with her brother, apparently he was acting funny and she's not sure if her mom is hurt and he's trying not to worry her, which isn't working, or if she really is okay and he's just shaken up by the close-call. She won't rest very easy until her mom makes it home and speaks to her directly, since apparently it's not uncommon for her brother to act like things are okay when they aren't, so it doesn't reassure her at all to talk to him. Yeah, families are so complicated.

 

[arunbg]

Latest : 190 killed , 625 injured . No terrorist groups claim responsibility yet.
The bombs were reportedly remote controlled and placed in the first calss carriages .

Their motive was to simply unleash fear psychosis among people .
Well, they have failed at that as Mumbai residents have come forward to help the victims in this time of need, without much consideration for their own safety.

 

[Reshma]

I am from Mumbai (Bombay). I got the news from my mom through her cell-phone when she was returning home from work. Her train was stalled because of the blasts that has taken place in the earlier train. And my dad and my brother had just returned home and these chain of incidents occurred. It was sheer good luck that everyone is safe. But some of their colleagues haven't been so fortunate. Communication was pretty down for a few hours after the blasts had taken place. This was a very barbaric act which the city has witnessed recently. I myself take the train to go to college everyday and this incident has created fear among train-commuters who have very little choice.

One thing I must say, the local citizens were indeed very helpful to the people stranded at the railway track. My mom and her co-passengers got all the help including food and water from the local people and she reached home safely at 1:30 AM at night. Atleast the spirit of the citizens were not weakened by this incident. My vote of thanks to them!

 

[fuzzyfelt]

I'm pleased to hear you and your family are safe.
The goodness of the people of Mumbai that you mentioned is a stark contrast to the evil acts.

 

[neutrino]

Glad to know that, Reshma.

I'm not sure when the politicians are going to realize it (they know about it, but are just pretending), but they could use all the money they give as compensation, after rail accidents and events such as these, into making better security arragnements at important locations and a better rail network.

 

[siddharth]

Such a sad event.

Glad to know that, Reshma.

Me too.

I'm not sure when the politicians are going to realize it (they know about it, but are just pretending), but they could use all the money they give as compensation, after rail accidents and events such as these, into making better security arragnements at important locations and a better rail network.

That's debatable. Anyway, I think it's too early to talk about this. We need to know more about how the incident happened before we can start pointing fingers.

 

[neutrino]

That's debatable.

Saving lives, debatable? They're going to spend money either way, but why not spend a good sum once and for all in making the railways much more safe?

 

[siddharth]

Saving lives, debatable? They're going to spend money either way, but why not spend a good sum once and for all in making the railways much more safe?

Oh no, I didn't mean that saving lives is debatable. What I feel debatable is

(i) Whether allocating money will actually improve saftey
(ii) Whether it's possible to prevent such attacks even with improved saftey.

 

[Reshma]

Thanks for the solidarity everyone . Things have returned to normal today although the death-toll does seems to be rising . Speaking of politicians, they promise a monetary compensation everytime a disaster occurs. I wonder if any of the money reaches the victims . Moreover, in a city like Bombay, where over 6 million people use the trains everyday, I wonder how these people are going to implement stringent security measures now . They just praise the resilience of the citizens everytime a calamity occurs but do not do anything significant to improve public security. I think it is high time they improve safety in public places and not put innocent people in danger because of such callousness.

 

[Gokul43201]

I think it is high time they improve safety in public places and not put innocent people in danger because of such callousness.

How would you do this? Any ideas?

 

[Reshma]

Surveillance cams on every train?? Other than the Delhi metros I don't think any other railway system has it in India.

 

[Astronuc]

The remedy depends on the methods used to place the bombs.

Where the bombs carried on and left during the normal course of the day, or were the bombs planted where the train was parked for some period of time.

Bombing detection equipment or dogs could be used in most public stations, but given the population and the number of stations, that would be quite expensive.

Surveillance cameras might help - but where to put them. How does one detect or determine a 'suspicious' package.

It would seem impractical to prevent people from carrying anything on a train. Professionals would likely carry briefcases or satchels, shoppers would carry bags or sacks, and students would have backpacks or perhpas briefcases.

Then there are the miles of trackage to protect.

 

[Gokul43201]

Surveillance cams on every train?? Other than the Delhi metros I don't think any other railway system has it in India.

If I board a train with two bags, stow them under my seat, and leave - an hour later - with only one bag, is anyone going to notice?

 

[Reshma]

If I board a train with two bags, stow them under my seat, and leave - an hour later - with only one bag, is anyone going to notice?

The conviction rate of the blasts that has taken place in the last thirteen years is almost nil. This is mainly because there is absolutely no intelligence source expect the "shoeshine boys" on the railway platforms who not nearly as effective . Cameras in railways stations can serve as a deterrent to trouble makers or atleast provide some visual evidence to detect suspicious activities. People here have become so cynical that they don't even want to suggest any measures to improve security . The ticket fares of railway systems are increased every year but little changes is seen in the services. I don't see anything wrong in investing some money in hidden cams if not anything else.