7 years after terror struck Mumbai, is the city prepared now?

Mumbai: Seven years after terrorists lay siege to India's financial capital for over 60 hours, Paris witnessed a Mumbai-style carnage - a terror strike similar in scale and modus operandi - on November 13.

On the eve of the anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks, analysts at the security conference organised in Mumbai debated the dynamics of post-Mumbai, post-Paris security architecture for the cities.

Graeme Millar, former London Police officer, said, "Countries will have to come together to fight terrorism. Intelligence agencies will have to share inputs."

Every anniversary of the 26/11 attack is accompanied with a question - is Mumbai prepared today? The Ram Pradhan committee that took a long hard look at the lapses and recommended basic but critical changes remains largely unimplemented, the progress only incremental.

The long and porous coastline in particular is still seen as the toughest challenge.

Seventy four Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers, which will set off alerts if boats not registered with Indian authorities try to enter ports, have been set up. But this electronic net to aid patrolling is yet to be fully operational.

It is claimed that ID cards have been issued to all fishermen and over 2 lakh fishing vessels have been registered whereas Navy sources said all fishermen haven't been given the unique ID.

It is also claimed that the Navy and Coast Guard provide periodic maritime training to marine police in all coastal states. While on the other hand, the proposed training centre for marine police is not operational. The training provided by the Navy and Coast Guards is ad hoc.

Chandra Iyengar, former bureaucrat with Maharashtra government, said, "We are better equipped now. We created a rapid action force that can reach any spot within 12 minutes."

While Paris shows terror outfits were inspired by the 26/11 attacks, Mumbai also made counter terrorism units across big cities in the world sit up and take notice.

Mumbai has witnessed multiple terror strikes and as the city observes yet another anniversary, the hope here is that the lessons have been learnt.