mumbai risk report

5/23/2018 Mumbai Risk Report

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Risk Assessment and Forecast

Mumbai

Risk Overview

Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India (as termed by the media inIndia), came into international spotlight recently due to the terror attacks in November 2008. ThoughMumbai has been known for long for challenges it faces in controlling terrorism and the underworldmafia, the 2008 attacks changed the face of previous attacks. This richest city in India and one of the topglobal centers of financial flow underwent noteworthy changes in its infrastructure to combat terrorismafter the attacks. While the attacks made the Indian Government and the Maharashtra state government toimplement firmer anti-terror tactics, Mumbai continues to face a high risk of terrorist attacks. The riskoverview is further increased by growing crime incidents in the city along with natural challenges such asfloods, high tides, etc. Mumbai sits on the west coast of India, bounded by the Arabian Sea. Thisgeographical location makes it vulnerable to sea-borne natural challenges.

Picture 1: Location of Mumbai in India (Source: Maps of India)

The Mumbai metropolitan city is made up of Mumbai City District and Mumbai Suburban District. Thecity area is also known as the island city and Mumbai remains in India since long as one of the primary

CONTENTS PAGE

Risk Overview 1

Major Issues 2

MNCs and Expatriates 3

Mitigation Measures 4

Forecasting 5

Precautions 6


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centers of the entertainment industry in India (popularly known as Bollywoodor the Indian Hindi filmindustry). As the most populous city in India, it also faces several challenges of urban lifestyle.

Major Issues

Terrorism continues to remain the topmost risk for the city of Mumbai, owing to its economic andfinancial significance in the Indian landscape. According to Indian intelligence sources, though there maybe an overlap between terrorist and mafia activities, threat from Islamic fundamentalists (believed to bebased in Pakistan) is considered to be highest. A brief outline of the major terrorist incidents in the city isgiven below:

Year Suspect Incident

July 2011 Indian Mujahideen,

Mafia( Underworld)

Three bomb explosions at different locations, causing 26

deaths and 131 persons injured.November 2008 Lashkar-e-Toiba Gun firing, bombings and hostage-taking caused 164 deaths

(including 10 attackers). Injured 300 persons.

July 2006 Lashkar-e-Toiba,Students IslamicMovement of India.

Seven bomb blasts in local trains at seven locations cause209 deaths and injure more than 700 people.

August 2003 Lashkar-e-Toiba Twin car bombings cause 52 deaths and injured 160 people.

Climatic conditions and heavy rains pose a major risk to business operations in Mumbai, as the city getsflooded and becomes inaccessible for travel. The city is considered vulnerable to rising sea levels andstorms due to climatic changes which are considered a business risk by the Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD).1

The Mumbai floods of July 2005 caused more than 1000 deathsand caused an approximate business loss of US$100 million. Functioning of banks, ATMs and stockexchanges were mostly suspended owing to flooding in the city. Airports were shut down temporarily andmore than 700 flights were affected. The floods also damaged nearly 4000 taxis (taxis are used widely forlocal transport by corporate employees), 50 local trains ( known as the lifeline of sub-urban Mumbai) and35000 autorickshaws ( three-wheeler public vehicles). Heavy downpours continue to hamper the normalfunctioning of the city of Mumbai till date.

Picture 2: A view of high t ides in Mumbai2

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Though Mumbai is considered a safer city for women as compared to Delhi, media sources havecriticized the city for its increasing crime rate. According to the latest release of the National CrimeRecords Bureau, 2010, Mumbai has the highest incidence of cyber crime (41 out of 150 cases) of IT casesreported under IPC sections which makes it account for 27.3 percent in India. The state of Maharashtraalso reported high number of crime cases with 208168 as compared to Delhi (51292) and Karnataka(142322).

MNCs and Expatriates

Mumbai remains the first choice for foreign nationals, expatriates and MNCs due to its metropolitanoutlook and the strong presence of the financial sector of the country. Most major financial and bankingcompanies and institutions in the country have their head offices in the city. The city is also a majortourist destination in the country.

The Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 changed the general perception of terrorist incidents in the country.The incident combined a series of coordinated attacks by suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists on bothpublic places and high-profile targets like the Taj Hotel. The places that were attacked are ChhatrapatiShivaji Terminus (a UNESCO World Heritage Site railway terminal), Leopold Caf ( a popular bar andcaf), the Taj Hotel, the Oberoi Trident Hotel, Nariman House( a Jewish center), besides two bombexplosions in taxis. Among the nearly 166 victims, 28 foreign nationals were killed in the attacks. Thoughthe exact number of people killed and injured remains disputed in government and media records, thetable below list the number of casualties and injured according to their nationality.

Source: Wikipedia (This table is compiled from various sources)

Americans

British


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The Mumbai terror attacks also made large MNCs rethink their corporate security plans. Since theterrorists entered the Indian territory via the Arabian Sea, according to discreet sources, most companieshave started to review their vulnerability if their offices are located in sea-facing business complexes.

MNCs also remain a constant target of verbal attack from the activists of the Hindu nationalist local party,Shiv Sena,and its rival split formation Maharashtra Navnirman Sena(MNS). Clashes frequently occurbetween the two rival parties, leading to police action on the city streets. The activists of both the politicalparties are critical of the influence of Western culture on the local youths and involve in vandalism inpublic places on Valentines Day. In November 2009, Shiv Sena activists attacked the offices of twonational TV channel networks for criticism of their supreme leader by the channels. Shiv Sena activistsalso call for frequent bandhs (closures) in the city as a protest strategy on their political agenda.

Mitigation Measures

In the subsequent years to the Mumbai terror attacks, the federal government in India and the Maharashtrastate government initiated firmer anti-terror measures. The Indian Government emphasized on thedevelopment of the anti-terror infrastructure and claimed to have increased homeland security allocationby 25 percent in the annual budget 2009-2010. The Ministry of Home Affairs (responsible for Indiasinternal security primarily) drew up a budget of USD 4.3 billion for the year 2009-10. 3A special policecommando force, known as Force One, operational of coastal police stations and up gradation /addition ofpolice resources were some of the important developments.

Apart from terrorism, the Mumbai Police is also becoming active in addressing crime incidents. In spiteof criticism of the media on police efficiency to combat crime, the recent data of NCRB challenge theclaims of media to an extent. According to this centralized data, the crime rate in Mumbai city was

comparatively lower than those in other cities in India.

Source: NCRB, 2010.

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435.


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According to government sources, vigilance regarding corruption and money laundering has alsoincreased in the recent years. A 2001 study conducted by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a reputedsecurity think tank in India, on organized crime in Mumbai highlights the complex functioning andsources of income of the Mumbai underworld. However, over the decade, security sources argue that theinfluence of the underworld has relatively declined in Mumbai.

Mumbai continues to face challenges from heavy rains and new disaster control measures have beentaken by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. The Monsoon Disaster Management Plan hastrained 60 new officers in flood rescue operations, consisting both firemen and officials.

Forecasting

The corporate sector in Mumbai believes that in spite of the genuine efforts taken by the government, thevulnerability and probability of the city to terrorist attacks remain high. However, most of them agree thatthe consequences of any future terrorist incident may not be as wide as in 2008 due to faster mitigationresources in hand.

Consular services of the British High Commission (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO, of theUK Government) and the US Embassy continue to offer travel warnings from time to time. British andAmerican citizens are frequently advised on terrorism and crime in the city ahead of any public festivals(festive seasons are soft targets to terrorist attacks due to likelihood of high number of casualties). Mostforeign governments advise their citizens to contact consulates for immediate distress relief.

Picture3: Screenshot of FCO

Extensive physical damage due to climatic conditions is less likely to occur on MNC material and humanassets in the near future. This is because natural calamities and meteorological warnings are closelyfollowed by corporate security departments in most MNCs. Besides getting informed by governmentsources, companies are also opening up their information sharing among themselves in the face ofcommon natural hazards. Most executives are given the option to work remotely wherever climaticconditions deteriorate.


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In regard to local tensions, the government takes reporting of public disturbances promptly. Most securityheads of MNCs maintain good relationships with law enforcement and police authorities for speedygrievance redressal. The Mumbai Police in the recent times have successfully controlled sabotageactivities of Shiv Sena activists and have controlled rioting tendencies. Though verbal attack onreputation of MNCs may continue, physical harm to company employees and material may not be easilypossible.

Picture 4: A Shiv Sena activist controlled by police during a clash (Source: Outlook)

Precautions

Foreign nationals are advised to undertake pre-travel orientation either privately or through professionalhelp before undertaking any travel to Mumbai. For long duration of stay in the city, registration with theconsulate of the home country may be beneficial as consular services have high standards.

Consulate/Embassy Contact Number(Emergency) AddressUS Consulate General (91-22) 2363-3611 American Consulate General C-

49, G-Block, Bandra KurlaComplex, Bandra East, Mumbai400051(New address from 21Nov, 2011).

British Deputy High Commission +91 (0)11 2419 2100, (91) (22)

66502222, +91 (0)22 6650 2222

Naman Chambers,C/32 G Block Bandra KurlaComplex,Bandra (East) Mumbai 400 051

Australia Consulate General +91 22 6116 7100

Australia No: +61 2 6261 3305or 1300 555 135

Australian Consulate General

36, Maker Chambers VI, 220,Nariman PointMumbai-400021

Consulate General of Canada 91 (22) 6749-4444, 91 (11) 4178-2000

6th Floor, Fort House, 221 Dr.D.N. Road, Mumbai, 400 001,India


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The quality of government-run emergency services is moderate in quality and can prove useful for first-aid and emergency purposes. The city also has some of the best private hospitals in the country. Thepolice also attend crime against foreign nationals on priority and senior police officials are accessible.Most senior officials have good working knowledge of English.

Incident/Service Contact Number Notes

Accident 102 Centralised Emergency Number

Breach Candy Hospital,Bhulabhai Desai Road

+91 22 23672888, 23671888,23667788

Private Hospital

Lilawati Hospital , BandraReclamation

Bandra (West)Mumbai 400050

+91 22 26751000, 26568000 Private Hospital

Fire Brigade 101 Centralised Emergency Number

Police Control Room 100

Senior Police Officials-Contact http://www.mumbaipolice.org/aboutus/telephone.htm

Essential Police Numbers http://www.mumbaipolice.org/imp_telnfax.htm


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