26/11 13th anniv: Mumbai pays homage to bravehearts, victims
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Nov, 2021 01:01 PM
Mumbai, Nov 26 (IANS) Mumbai on Friday remembered the bravehearts and victims felled by bullets and others who saved lives on the 13th anniversary of the dastardly terrror strikes by ten Pakistani terrorists who paralysed the city on November 26-29 2008.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari led the state by solemnly laying wreaths at the Martyrs' Memorial erected inside the Mumbai Police Commissionerate premises near Crawford Market in south Mumbai.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, currently convalescing, saluted those who lost their lives during the terror strikes and expressed his gratitude to those who fought the terrorists, terming the attack "a cowardly act".
He recalled the services of the police and security forces and the people of Mumbai for warding off the assault on the country's commercial capital and recovering from its effects.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Home Minsiter Dilip Walse-Patil, Tourism Minister, Director-General of Police Sanjay Pandey, Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale and other dignitaries also paid their respects at the martyrs' memorial.
A large number of police personnel turned up to pay homage to their colleagues who lost their lives while fighting the terrorists who struck at key locations in south Mumbai, with special memories for Tukaram G. Omble who sacrificed his life while pinning down Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole terrorist nabbed alive in the early hours of November 27, 2008.
The still-grieving family members, relatives of the martyrs and several bravehearts, as also ordinary people paid homage to the departed souls with folded hands, bowed heads, lighting candles, offering flowers or wreaths, at the Martyrs' Memorial and other locations in the city.
They included the widows, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers or sisters, who stepped upto the memorial and offered their own personal tributes with flowers or tears for their departed near and beloved ones.
Similar in memoriams were held at some of the worst-hit targets like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, Hotel Oberoi, the Chabad House, the Cama Hospital, and the Leopold Cafe, which bore the brunt of attackers leaving around 175 dead and over 300 injured.
The traditional and social media featured several remembrance ads, glowing and touching tributes and messages of the 60-hours that shook the world before the security forces won over the terrorists - eliminating 9 and taking one (Kasab) alive - to face the Indian law in an unprecedented 'open trial'.
The joint call to action comes from non-attainment cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Khanna, Patiala and others reeling under poor air quality, and not just during winters.
In his address in the Assembly's special session to mark the commemoration of 400th Prakash Purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur, he stressed that the Sikh faith is distinguished by the tradition of martyrdom to uphold principles and righteousness given to "us by our great Gurus".
A total of 40.8 per cent people have shown satisfaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the five states going to the polls next year, while 41.3 per cent showed dissatisfaction with him, as per the ABP-CVOTER-IANS BATTLE FOR THE STATES - WAVE 1.
According to the ABP-CVOTER-IANS BATTLE FOR THE STATES - WAVE 1, the goodwill of the Union government remains the same except in Punjab, which is up against the Centre over the three farm laws.
The survey found that overall, 13.3 per cent said the 'country is moving forward but not my life', 29.3 per cent said the 'country is moving forward and my life too', while 5 per cent said that 'life is improving but the country is in poor state'.
A day earlier, Customs officials had recovered 495 grams of gold valued at Rs 24.14 lakh from a passenger on his arrival from Dubai. The gold was concealed in various items like a blender, facial cream box, and sandals. A case for smuggling of gold was registered. Further investigation is in progress, an official said.
