Serene and Budget Friendly Hotels Security Still a Concern After Mumbai Blasts

Citing examples of what happened on 26th November, Wednesday has really terrified innocent travellers and business men holding conference meetings, presentations and trainings at upscale hotels. It occurred in business hub of south Mumbai, at Trident hotel, Oberoi hotel, Taj hotel, Nariman point, hospital and railway station in mumbai. Television footage showed some terrorists, wearing dark colour T-shirts and holding automatic rifles, near some of the buildings under attack. Mumbai witnessed explosions at the Taj hotel, Oberoi hotel, Trident hotel and firing at a hospital where gunmen were surrounded

One of the terrorist called up the media guys and revealed the agenda behind the terrorist attack who claimed that the attack was to avenge the “persecution” of Muslims in India. And also requested the release of Inidan Mujahideen militants who were jailed in India. Security experts say the standard safety measures in place at most upscale hotels in international business centers could not have entirely prevented what happened on November 26th, the invasion of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower and Oberoi Hotel. But the attacks in Mumbai are triggering new discussions about the proper level of security that should be in place at hotels which are frequented by business travelers, which often attract large crowds with few limits on access. Hotels across India have made a significant investment to upgrade their emergency and crisis procedures in light of Mumbai events. Experts often say that other mild security practices can be adopted such as separate staff entrances, vetted staff, anti-shatter film on lobby windows and adequate lighting.

More and more hotels are coming forward to take the appropriate steps necessary, including established emergency and security procedures. Vehicles should be kept at some distance from the building, checking identification of people entering the building and using bomb-sniffing dogs, to detect any bombs or alert system to check for weapons. There have been similar such occurrences before, where in upscale hotels have been targeted. In September, a truck bomb exploded at the entrance to the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, while a car bomb went off outside a JW Marriott in South Jakarta,  in 2003. In 2005, al-Qaeda executed a series of coordinated bomb attacks on three hotels -- the Grand Hyatt, Radisson and Days Inn -- in Amman, Jordan. So, it’s better to practice good security measures at hotels. Any thing suspicious when noticed should be immediately reported to the police.