Date:29/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/29/stories/2008092958120100.htm

Front Page

A sense of fear, disbelief in Mehrauli

Staff Reporter

Shopkeepers demand increased police patrolling and surveillance gadgets

Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Day After: A child sits alone in the Mehrauli Sarai Market which remained shut on Sunday.

NEW DELHI: More than 24 hours after a blast shook the little known Sarai Market in Mehrauli here on Saturday claiming one life and injuring over a score people, a sense of fear and disbelief is palpable among the local residents and shopkeepers.

“We never expected such a thing would happen in our market. It is usually the upmarket areas like Greater Kailash, Sarojini Nagar, Connaught Place and Karol Bagh that have been the target of terrorists. Even after the recent serial blasts in the Capital, our business was not unaffected unlike other posh markets. Security was never an issue for us until Saturday’s blast,” said Mukesh Hans, who owns a hardware store in the market.

“The paint buckets and hardware items displayed outside the shop took the impact of the blast and I survived. But business will surely be affected. People are too scared to come out now. The business community is the worst hit by these blasts with the festival season round the corner,” the shopkeeper lamented.

With the security issue weighing heavy on the minds of shopkeepers, a large number of them staged a demonstration in the market in the morning demanding increased police patrolling and installation of closed-circuit television cameras in the area. And shops opened in the afternoon only after senior police officers assured shopkeepers of beefing up security.

“We have asked the police to put barricades at all five entrances to the market, including Andheria Mor, Jain Mandir and Qutab Minar. We have also requested installation of at least a dozen closed-circuit television cameras and increased patrolling. The issue of tenant and servant verification was also stressed upon as a large number of inhabitants in the area are outsiders and have come from the neighbouring States. We are also planning to hire watchmen to keep vigil at night,” said Rajesh Kharbanda, who owns Kharbanda Electricals in the market.

Some shopkeepers also admitted that the incident might strain relations between members of the two communities.

“The two communities have been on friendly terms up till now. But tension was palpable in the market on Saturday. We will ensure that communal harmony in the area is not disturbed,” said a shopkeeper.