Mangaldas Market, one of the oldest and busiest markets in south Mumbai was reportedly on the target list of the two terror suspects arrested by the ATS on Sunday.
According to the police, the suspects had done a recce of the market and were planning to set the market on
fire.
Although news of the arrests spread across the market, there was no sign of panic or fear among the shopkeepers or shoppers in the 118-year-old market. Being a Sunday, most of the shops in the market were closed but those that were open, carried on business as usual.
“All we could do is tighten the security and install CCTV cameras,” said Riyaz Shaikh owner of Cloth House in the Mangaldas market building.
The market, located near the Crawford Market at CST is housed in a century-old building with colonial architecture. It houses more than 100 shops in nine dingily divided lanes. The market is known as a major wholesale cloth centre with more than a lakh visitors daily.
According to shop owners, there are no CCTV cameras or other security equipment installed in the building. There are seven watchmen in the vicinity.
“How is it possible to stop anybody entering the market or frisk each individual?” said Vijay Modi shopowner of Vijay Corporation, which has been selling garments since the last 50 years.
“There are 19 entry points to the market and securing all would be difficult,” added Modi.