MUMBAI: Mumbai almost
hit the panic button on Thursday morning after television channels
relayed a fresh alert along the south Indian coast. The city has
already been showing signs of nervousness ever since Sunday when the
tsunami struck some parts of south and south-east India.
Evidently on edge, many of the city’s usually hardy denizens called
their loved ones to check if everything was okay. The more alert called
the weather bureau. "We received calls all day, many more in the
morning, asking us if a tsunami was going to lash the city," said a
weather bureau official.
Goregaon resident Sudhakar Tawde got a call at work from his worried
son, who relayed rumours about the possibility of another tsunami. "He
wanted me to go back home," said Tawde.
The overcast sky added to anxiety levels. "It looks as though it’s
going to rain any time," said Namrata Jain, standing at Marine Drive.
"One just feels something is going to go wrong here." The weather
bureau attributed the cloudy skies to rain in Gujarat.
"The what-if factor is very much there," noted civic activist Gul
Asrani, a resident of Cuffe Parade.Although Cuffe Parade residents
aren’t exactly panicking, they feel more vulnerable because of their
proximity to the sea. "As we have a big bay and the waves don’t travel
in our direction, we’re hoping we won’t be affected," he added.
Some institutions appeared to jump the gun. The general manager of the
Greater Mumbai Zone of Bank of Baroda, for instance, issued a circular
to all offices and branches saying, "A red alert has been given
throughout Mumbai, due to threatened earthquake/tsunami, likely to
affect Mumbai. and instructed employees to take "precautionary
measures" and get in touch with the bank's security chief in case of an
emergency.
In Juhu, Hotel Sun-n-Sand, perched on the beach, said it was keeping a
watch on the tides, more so because of the unusually cloudy skies.
"We're on alert," said personnel manager Ganesh Pandit.
"We're looking out for any abnormal tidal movements, such as a higher
momentum." The state government, however, insisted that the coast was
clear.
Migrants starts leaving Nashik
Mumbai: Three days of street violence unleashed by the Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena culminated in a large number of migrant workers leaving
Nashik from Monday morning. Industry owners said hundreds of workers
employed in the city's MIDC area had asked for a final settlement of
their dues and boarded trains for the north.
"We have arrested 108 persons, including three MNS corporators," Nashik
commissioner of police S M Syed said. Some were preventing arrests and
some were for more substantial charges , Syed added. The police
registers two cases against MNS workers overturning carts of vegetable
vendors in the Shalimar Chowk area on Tuesday. Panicky workers were
leaving the city, Syed admitted, but insisted that the situation in the
rest of the city was normal.
Over a dozen migrants, mainly hawkers, were undergoing treatment at the
Nashik Civil Hospital after a bout of violence. Shops along Nashik Road
closed down following the incident. Incidents of stone-pelting at
state-run buses were reported from Nashik Road, Ambad, Ravivar Peth and
Gangapur areas. Bus services were severely curtailed and diverted via
Nipani.
toireporter@timesgroup.com
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/976653.cms
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