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Gurgaon Malls News: Bomb scare in Gurgaon malls

ARE WE PREPARED?

Fortunately, the Sunday evening bomb scare in the Gurgaon mall turned out to be hoax…however, it has set the alarm bells ringing and it’s time, for both the authorities and the residents, to assess their preparedness when faced with such situation.

After the Delhi blasts, it was not a really a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’. …And, then it happened this Sunday. As news trickled in, of a bomb scare at one of the Gurgaon malls, the first question that came to everyone’s mind was: ‘Are we prepared to handle this kind of a crisis? ‘Says Abhinav Gupta, a Sushant Lok resident, who was doing the rounds of the malls on Sunday evening, “We were on our way to the DLF City Center, when we sensed that something was wrong. We saw a lot of police vehicles moving around. It was only once we reached the mall that we realized that the police were searching for a bomb. ‘However, residents feel that this bomb hoax call might have came as a blessing in disguise, as it has given everyone a chance to reassess their roles and reactions. S.K. Gupta, a Gurgaon resident feels, “Now is the crucial time. It’s very fortunate that the call turned out to be a hoax. But, now everyone needs to sit down and understand the processes and reactions to be able to react in the right manner.”

Being a weekend, it naturally meant that the malls were choc-a-bloc with visitors, both from Gurgaon it self and a large number who had come in from Delhi. Geetika Kapur, a visitor to the MGF Mall who had come all the way from Delhi, “Initially there was a lot of confusion and everyone was running here and there. Then, gradually things become somewhat normal. “The regular visitors felt that there needs to be a mechanism in place which should be as much the responsibility of the mall security team as the local police. It was felt by many that there was no clarity or co-ordination between the local officials and mall security guards as to how to go about evacuating the massive crowd. Says Vishal Agnihotri, a regular visitor to the malls, “Based on the experience of Sunday evening, I feel that the authorities need to sit down and devise a plan to tackle such emergencies. For instance, every through the police teams reached the spot quickly; there was no sign of fire tenders for quite a long time. Also, one didn’t really see any ambulances around the area.”

Another big point of concern which was expressed by many was the absolute chaos which could be seen on the MG Road and surrounding areas. This meant that the essential services teams took more time to reach the spot and that could mean a world of deference. Says Rajita Chandra, a DLF resident, “Looking at the resultant traffic chaos on MG Road, I shudder to think what would have happened if there was a need for ambulances or medical teams to reach the spot.”

By Vishesh Prakash, Gurgaon Plus(The Times of India)15 feb 2006

Gurgaon News: ‘Gurgaon has a sunny, youthful atmosphere’

The recent demolition drive in Delhi created a large uproar. However, people were taken aback by huge surprise when the glass-and-granite facade of 1, MG Road was targeted by the MCD bulldozer on Wednesday. commercial of residential properties is a trend which has caught on in gurgaon as well.