Ratan Tata surveys Taj damage, INTACH ready to help in restoration

Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group which owns the Taj hotel, surveyed the heritage building which has suffered extensive damage in the three days of fierce gunbattle in Mumbai with militants. [...] Delhi chapter of INTACH said: “There has been no formal agreement but INTACH would like to help restore the glory of the Taj hotel in Mumbai. We have the expertise & we can re-establish the grandeur of the heritage building.” (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Chairman of India’s Tata Heads Call for Security Effort

For Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of India’s flagship conglomerate Tata Group, the terror attacks on Mumbai hit close to home in more ways than one. In their wake, the usually understated senior statesman of Indian business has become the public face of a community angry about the country’s lack of preparedness. [...] Ratan Tata, head of the company that owns the Taj Mahal hotel, visited the site Saturday, promising to rebuild & asking others to do the same. (online.wsj.com)

Ironic, we eased just before being hit by terror: Ratan Tata

It is “ironic” that extra security measures, taken after being warned of a possible terror strike, were eased just before the terrorists assaulted the landmark Taj hotel, Tata group chief Ratan Tata said: “It’s ironic that we did have such a warning, & we did have some measures (for the additional security),” Tata told US news channel CNN from Mumbai. The over 100-years-old iconic hotel stands mutilated in the financial capital of India after about 60-hour long siege by terrorists who indulged in arson & explosion before being gunned down by NSG guards yesterday morning. Post attack, Tata rued that crisis infrastructure was “woefully poor” & the attacks revealed deficiencies in the law enforcement, especially in areas of crisis response and management. [...] (www.ptinews.com)

Armed but no licence to shoot

Tulsiram Ghorpade, a security guard at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, holds an automatic rifle, but says he can’t shoot before two superiors grant him permission.
“The permission system is sensible… otherwise, some junior security guard can just shoot a personal enemy, & claim he was shooting a terrorist or criminal,” said Ghorpade, a retired army jawan now hired by a private security agency engaged by the hotel. [...] Tata group boss Ratan Tata said in an interview to CNN that the hotel had been warned of a possible terror strike & did put in place additional security measures, but said even those could not have prevented the terrorists from entering. (www.telegraphindia.com)