In Mumbai, Bloggers and Twitter Offer Help to Relatives, Mumbai Terror Attacks Concerned

Bloggers pitched in offering information and other help to people worldwide as Indian police and commandos battled it out Thursday with armed terrorists in two top hotels and a residential complex in south Mumbai.

On "Mumbai Help", bloggers offered to help users get through to their family and friends in the city, or to get information on them.

Mobile and fixed line circuits to Mumbai were clogged by the large number of people trying to get in touch with people in Mumbai after the crisis. A significant number of the people trapped in the hotels are foreigners, according to media reports.

More people are likely to use mobile phones and technologies like SMS (Short Message Service) to get in touch with relatives than go online, because the number of mobile users outstrips that of online users in Mumbai. But when the phone lines are clogged, some people are realizing that going online may be a good alternative.

People posting on the Mumbai Help blog included a sister trying to get in touch with her brother on a mobile number. A volunteer tried the number, and promptly reported on the blog that the number was busy but she would continue to try.

"We do what we can," said Dina Mehta, an ethnographer by profession, who is blogging on Mumbai Help. "We are certainly providing people emotional support at this difficult time," she added.

Mumbai Help's teams were on Thursday checking out if hospitals have put out the list of the injured and dead, to pass on the information to bloggers and callers. "Till now the lists of dead or injured are not yet put up, which is surprising," Mehta said Thursday afternoon.

Micro-blogging site Twitter is also being used to pass on information, or to just express feelings about the terrorist attack, and sometimes about the inadequate coverage of the crises by some Indian TV channels.

The Taj Mahal Hotel, one of the locations attacked by the terrorists, has used SMS to get its help line and other important numbers to anxious relatives who had people living or visiting the hotel at the time of the attack.

A trapped hotel guest used his mobile phone to send an MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) video clip of police action to a local TV channel, IBN Live. The channel has been encouraging witnesses to send MMS as part of their citizen journalism program.

Source: http://pcworld.in/

Mumbai terrorist attacks don't deter technology companies

Terrorist attacks late Wednesday in Mumbai are unlikely to make multinational technology companies change their strategies for India.

The attack in Mumbai is the latest in a string of terrorist attacks across the country, including a number of attacks earlier in Mumbai.

The attacks late Wednesday by terrorists using guns and grenades in Mumbai did however appear different than previous ones, because it targeted top five-star hotels in Mumbai's business district. About 100 are feared dead in the shootouts, which still continue as police battle the armed terrorists. Some foreign residents at the hotel are being held hostage by the terrorists.  

"It is sad that this has happened, but we are confident that India will bounce back to normalcy," said Vidya Natampally, director of strategy at Microsoft Research India. 

The terrorist attacks will not change Microsoft Research's plans in India. " We are committed to staying on in India," Natampally added.

Dell has issued a travel advisory to its staff, advising caution and due diligence when traveling to India, said a spokeswoman for the company. "That is the only measure we have taken," she added.

A large number of technology companies including Oracle, Microsoft, and Dell run large software development and call center operations in India. But ever since the threat of terrorism increased since last year, these companies have tightened on security at their facilities.

"For a long time now, we have tightened on security at all our facilities," the Dell spokeswoman said.

Indian outsourcing companies and Indian operations of multinational technology companies were not affected by the attacks, though the disruption of train service in Mumbai on Thursday could affect the movement of staff.

The Bombay Stock Exchange in south Mumbai has shut down on Thursday. The state government has ordered schools and colleges closed Thursday.

Mumbai Terror Attack - Who owns the Responsibility?

The 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks sees the insight plan of the terrorists who might have very brainly acted on it. What a shame on Indian intelligence agencies and govt. that terrorists almost ransacked the Mumbai city with terrorist attacks. The terror attack has surely shaken us all and we just hope our laidback govt. takes strong actions against the terrorist outfits that are sprouting up all over the country; writes one of the popular websited pluggd.in from India. 

This is the extract from http://www.pluggd.in/politics/mumbai-terrorist-attack-3204/.

What’s worrying about the entire episode is the meticulous planning that was done (terrorists came from Karachi via sea route - the weakest security link) - of which Indian intelligence agencies had no clue of.
Hope this is a reason strong enough for Manmohan Singh (puppet?) to take responsibility of chaos that he and his govt. has caused in the country - either step down or show some guts.

For Mumbaikars, our heart goes out to you guys - you deal with internal as well as external terrorism and have the energy to bounce back. Hats off to your shaken, not stirred attitude.

You can also read more guffs - more imaginations and news from aajtak.in too.

Mumbai attacks live updates

Indian security forces have surrounded two hotels in Mumbai, the Trident Oberoi and the Taj Mahal Palace, which were taken over by gunmen who launched co-ordinated attacks in the city on Wednesday that have so far left more than 100 people dead. A group of hostages leaves the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, but gunmen are still thought to be at large at other sites after violence killed at least 101 people.

Below is a series of attack updates unfolded by BBC as the terror attacks in Mumbai became terrible. Events are followed by GMT periods. Original Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752003.stm

1029 Maj Gen RK Hooda, commander of the army in Maharashtra state, tells local TV channels that members of the National Security Guard are doing a room-by-room search of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. He says: "They started from the top floor and have come down to the 21st floor. There are 365 rooms to be searched... We don't know about the number of hostages. We know there are four to five terrorists."

1025 The CNN-ibn television channel reports from one of Mumbai's railway stations that there are very few people out and about. One commuter said his train was virtually empty.

1015 Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang says that the Chinese government strongly condemns the attacks in Mumbai. "China always opposes terrorist attacks of any kind, and we express our condolences to the victims," he says.

1008 India's Times Now television channel reports a loud explosion outside the Oberoi hotel - the sixth in the last 35 minutes, it says.

1006 BBC Correspondent Mark Dummet says: Police seem to be taking a softly-softly approach, rather than charging in to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. That explains why it has taken so long to get through the hotel and why they have not cleared every corner.

1004: Jake Betts, a British lawyer who lives and works close to the Oberoi Hotel tells BBC World that the large number of foreigners working in Mumbai feel targeted. "At the moment we're just sitting tight in our flat, trying to stay safe because we're very close to everything. But when this all is over... we're definitely going to have to re-appraise [our situation]," he says.

1000 The director-general of the UK's Federation of Tour Operators says the "handful" of British nationals who had booked a holiday in Mumbai through its members had been accounted for and were safe.

0958 The Champions Twenty20 League cricket tournament has been postponed in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, organisers say.

0955 India's NDTV is broadcasting live pictures of commandos taking position outside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. Gunshots can be heard.

0950 India's Times Now television channel reports that at least five explosions have been heard at the Oberoi hotel in quick succession in the past few minutes. It also says Indian navy helicopters, assisted by the coast guard, are chasing a trawler in the Arabian Sea that is believed to have transported the gunmen to Mumbai.

0943 BBC Correspondent Mark Dummet, speaking outside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, says: There have been two further explosions at the hotel, followed by a round of gunfire. Clearly the situation remains uncertain and remains dangerous.

0938 British MEP Sajjad Karim says he listened as security forces fought gunmen "floor by floor and room by room" in an attempt to gain control of the Taj Mahal hotel overnight. Mr Karim, who was among a group who barricaded themselves in a basement, tells the Press Association he left the hotel at 0500 local time.

0936 Bachi Karkaria, of the Times of India, tells the BBC that Mumbai has been "terribly shaken" by the attacks. "No-one is safe and nothing can be taken for granted," she says.

0930 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expresses concern about the attacks in Mumbai. He says: "We are deeply concerned by these developments, deeply concerned by the potential impact on Indian citizens and other citizens, and we will have further to say about this during the course of the day."

0924 Security expert Rahul Roy Chaudhury, from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, tells the BBC that it could be some time before the Taj Mahal Palace hotel is given the all-clear. He says: "The security services will have to go from room-to-room to make sure the hotel is entirely free of terrorists," adding the gunmen could try to slip out among Indian nationals who had been taken hostage.

0920 BBC Correspondent Mark Dummet, speaking outside the main entrance of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, says: I have seen armed soldiers leading out a dozen or so of the guests, one of the men being carried by a soldier to a series of ambulances which are lined up here. It would seem as if the siege here at the Taj Hotel is over.