As part of efforts to prevent another 26/11-type attack, the Mumbai Police want heightened security at the Gateway of India, but the various agencies concerned are unable to agree on how to go about it.
The police last week dashed off yet another letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, asking it to secure the Gateway with a CCTV umbrella.
The continued lack of security at the popular tourist spot six years after the terror attack reflects a typical lack of coordination and indifference among government agencies.
The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC) and the Heritage Committee, a State government agency, are all responsible for the monument.
The Hindu has accessed a series of exchanges among the five agencies on the subject. From 2012, the file has criss-crossed several corridors of these agencies. Yet, the monument remains without even CCTV scrutiny.
Security plan for Gateway in limbo
The city police’s plan for heightened security at the Gateway of India entails erecting a security plaza with metal detectors, an eight-foot-high fenced barricade, eight CCTV cameras around the structure, a watchtower and X-ray scanners around the monument.
Between 2012 and 2014, the police have written over a dozen letters to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation asking it to install eight CCTV cameras.
The Corporation, however, only responded last month, stating it should be covered with the help of CCTVs being procured by the Home Department for the entire city.
An equal number of letters have also been sent to the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT). In a letter dated July 4, 2014, which The Hindu has accessed, the MbPT has stated that the Gateway of India is a “public space” and further mentions, “securing such space was the duty of the police.”
A senior official said while the Gateway was on MbPT land, the Corporation took care of its beautification. Further, as the monument is a heritage structure, any fixture needs the heritage committee’s approval. “The committee has recently agreed to fence the area but they want us to use a transparent sheet,” he added.
