Nehru Place on red alert

Nehru Place, an area long on the radar of terrorist attacks, has once again
been brought to the limelight. A few days back, a call was made to the police
control room about an explosive being planted in three buildings, namely
Siddharth Bhawan, Bajaj House and Sahyog Building.

Thereafter, a police squad from Kalkaji police station conducted a security
check and scanned the building premises but the news turned out to be a hoax.

Commenting on the security situation, Saket Kapur, Secretary of PCAIT and a
member of an association of Vishal Bhawan building in Nehru Place said,
“Everybody is walking on eggshells right now. We need to strengthen and protect
ourselves. It is high time that people start taking measures at their own end.
Government cannot take all the measures alone. They need ample support from the
business and real estate owners in Nehru place. We are taking measures to create
awareness among the dealers in Nehru Place about the safety measures they should
take for themselves. Every building owner needs to look after the safety of his
own premises.”

Nehru Place is one of the most crowded and congested markets of the capital.
The market has no entry barriers and thousands of people visit the market
without any security checks. Also, with incidents of encroachment on the rise,
the makes has become more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

While replying to the query about PCAIT's role in driving security concerns,
Kapur informed that PCAIT responsibility is to inform dealers about being
proactive and increase security level at their own premises. “The major role has
to be played by building and real estate owners. They need to increase
surveillance at their own buildings so that it is also easy for government to
enhance security,” said Kapur.