Taj Mahal Palace and Towers was a symbol of national pride even before it was built. There is a story that Jamshedji Tata built Taj Mahal after he was refused entry into one of city's hotels because he was an Indian. It might just be irony that Taj went on to become a favourite with foreign tourists in India. Why not? After all, Taj Mahal Palace was constructed even before the Gateway of India was finished in 1928. And till today, it attracts more onlookers than the Gateway.
Jamshed Khanna, Heritage Building Expert, said, "Tata bought geysers from Germany, chandeliers from France, and he wanted to make it into one of the most beautiful iconic structures.”
Legend also says that when the hotel went into losses once, Jamshetji had put in money from other businesses to support it. Tata Group which is now known for its strategic acquisitions also might have made its earliest with Taj Mahal. In 1970, Green's Hotel at Apollo Bunder was bought out by the group and was integrated into Taj Mahal making it Taj Mahal Palace and Towers.
But this hotel had its share of bad times. A story says that this beautifully adorned hotel was turned into a hospital during World War I. But it probably saw more blood and violence last week during terror attack than it did during times of war.
Gerson da Cunha, Social Activist, said, “Taj was ablaze, the roof was ablaze and I went to sleep with an immense sense of disappointment that this is the end of Taj.”
But the end was not come so soon. After all Taj Mahal, which is built in stone, is a pillar of strength, literally and otherwise just like the spirit of Mumbai.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
India must bomb terror camps
As evidence of Pakistan connection to the Mumbai attacks piles up, India is hardening its stance. The Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that all options are now open, including a military one against Pakistan's terrorist strongholds. Meanwhile, the Pakistan government says it is open to a joint investigation into the attacks.
CNN-IBN debated on Face the Nation if India should target terror camps in Pakistan.
On the panel of experts to try and answer the question were former secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs and former ambassador to UAE and Iran, K C Singh; Senior International Correspondent CNN, Nic Robertson; Pakistani author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes fame, Mohammed Hanif; and Pakistani journalist Naseem Zehra.
At the beginning of the show, 90 per cent of those who voted in said yes, India should target terror camps in Pakistan while a minority 10 per cent disagreed.
CNN-IBN debated on Face the Nation if India should target terror camps in Pakistan.
On the panel of experts to try and answer the question were former secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs and former ambassador to UAE and Iran, K C Singh; Senior International Correspondent CNN, Nic Robertson; Pakistani author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes fame, Mohammed Hanif; and Pakistani journalist Naseem Zehra.
At the beginning of the show, 90 per cent of those who voted in said yes, India should target terror camps in Pakistan while a minority 10 per cent disagreed.
Tariffs to fall another 5-10% post terror attacks
Estimated revenue losses for hotels are as follows:
Taj Mahal Hotel:
South Mumbai average room rate, or ARR, is at Rs 12,349
Suite rate at USD 600-800 per day
Occupancy rate is at 60%
Capacity: 292 rooms + 20 executive suites
Therefore, the minimum revenue loss is seen at Rs 85-90 crore over one-year
Oberoi Trident:
South Mumbai ARR at Rs 13,900
Suite rate at USD 900-1000 per day
Occupancy rate at 63%
Capacity: 333 rooms + 22 executive suites
Therefore, the minimum revenue loss seen at Rs 120-130 crore over one-year
Asset destruction is likely to be higher in Taj as the hotel was a heritage structure. Both the hotels are understood to have taken terrorism cover, fire insurance, and loss of profit as add-on policies. Taj is insured jointly by Tata AIG (65%), ICICI Lombard (30%), and Iffco Tokio (5%). While Trident is insured by United India.
Hotel outlook going forward:
The terror attacks are likely to have long-term implications. Occupancies already fell by 2% in Q2. Sources expect tariffs to fall by at least another 5-10% almost immediately. Capacity utilization will be high during winter. Post the terror attacks, the industry feels occupancy rates could fall to 70-80%. Mumbai and Delhi together offer about 30,000 rooms and nearly 60-65% hotels rooms are occupied by business travelers in Mumbai and Delhi.
Taj Mahal Hotel:
South Mumbai average room rate, or ARR, is at Rs 12,349
Suite rate at USD 600-800 per day
Occupancy rate is at 60%
Capacity: 292 rooms + 20 executive suites
Therefore, the minimum revenue loss is seen at Rs 85-90 crore over one-year
Oberoi Trident:
South Mumbai ARR at Rs 13,900
Suite rate at USD 900-1000 per day
Occupancy rate at 63%
Capacity: 333 rooms + 22 executive suites
Therefore, the minimum revenue loss seen at Rs 120-130 crore over one-year
Asset destruction is likely to be higher in Taj as the hotel was a heritage structure. Both the hotels are understood to have taken terrorism cover, fire insurance, and loss of profit as add-on policies. Taj is insured jointly by Tata AIG (65%), ICICI Lombard (30%), and Iffco Tokio (5%). While Trident is insured by United India.
Hotel outlook going forward:
The terror attacks are likely to have long-term implications. Occupancies already fell by 2% in Q2. Sources expect tariffs to fall by at least another 5-10% almost immediately. Capacity utilization will be high during winter. Post the terror attacks, the industry feels occupancy rates could fall to 70-80%. Mumbai and Delhi together offer about 30,000 rooms and nearly 60-65% hotels rooms are occupied by business travelers in Mumbai and Delhi.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Kindly Help Pass This Message For A Better India & Better Tomorrow
We have heard and seen enough. Too many innocent lives have been lost, too much innocent blood has been spilt, too many children orphaned. The echoes of screams and the muffled explosions still ring in our ears and make us look behind our shoulders for reassurance. How many more deaths, explosions, conspiracies will it take for us to realise that we cannot always fall back on our resilience, on the spirit of the people to bounce back to our feet? This very resilience is being tested severely at this juncture.
www.abillionhands.com is about you, me and all of us. It is a platform for us to come together and express some of the anger and anguish we felt over the last few days. To express some of the frustration and helplessness that we felt. And above all, it is a platform for us to come together, to debate how each one of us can make a difference.
It would be a mistake to see this as a site only about the Mumbai terror strike. Mumbai is just one of several hundred terror struck places in the world. It's happened in the US, UK, Europe, South East Asia. And the result is always the same – death of innocent people, and uncalled for damage.
Now is the time for all of us to come together to ensure these horrors don't get lost in endless political debates, and then forgotten. Let's join hands at www.abillionhands.com for a better tomorrow. This site is for us and by us. All of us share a common dream of a better, safer and stronger World. Let us nurture this dream and take steps to make it
www.abillionhands.com is about you, me and all of us. It is a platform for us to come together and express some of the anger and anguish we felt over the last few days. To express some of the frustration and helplessness that we felt. And above all, it is a platform for us to come together, to debate how each one of us can make a difference.
It would be a mistake to see this as a site only about the Mumbai terror strike. Mumbai is just one of several hundred terror struck places in the world. It's happened in the US, UK, Europe, South East Asia. And the result is always the same – death of innocent people, and uncalled for damage.
Now is the time for all of us to come together to ensure these horrors don't get lost in endless political debates, and then forgotten. Let's join hands at www.abillionhands.com for a better tomorrow. This site is for us and by us. All of us share a common dream of a better, safer and stronger World. Let us nurture this dream and take steps to make it
4,100 terror attacks since '74 on India
India faced more than 4,100 terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2004, accounting for more than 12,000 fatalities, according to the Global Terrorism Database.
The database is maintained by the University of Maryland and the US National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).
START's Terrorist Organisation Profiles (TOPs) collection has information on 56 groups known to have engaged in terrorism in India, including the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
About 12,540 terrorist-related fatalities in India between 1970 and 2004 - an average of almost 360 fatalities per year from terrorism in India. These fatalities peaked in 1991 and 1992, when 1,184 and 1,132 individuals (respectively) were killed in such incidents, a University of Maryland statement said.
These figures are on the lower side as official figures in India put the toll at around 70,000 deaths.
Terrorists in India have employed a variety of attack types over time, 38.7 per cent of terrorist events were facility attacks, 29.7 per cent were bombings (in which the intent was to destroy a specific facility), and 25.5 per cent were assassinations. Last week's terror attacks in Mumbai, which left at least 183 dead, would be classified as a series of coordinated facility attacks.
The database is maintained by the University of Maryland and the US National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).
START's Terrorist Organisation Profiles (TOPs) collection has information on 56 groups known to have engaged in terrorism in India, including the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
About 12,540 terrorist-related fatalities in India between 1970 and 2004 - an average of almost 360 fatalities per year from terrorism in India. These fatalities peaked in 1991 and 1992, when 1,184 and 1,132 individuals (respectively) were killed in such incidents, a University of Maryland statement said.
These figures are on the lower side as official figures in India put the toll at around 70,000 deaths.
Terrorists in India have employed a variety of attack types over time, 38.7 per cent of terrorist events were facility attacks, 29.7 per cent were bombings (in which the intent was to destroy a specific facility), and 25.5 per cent were assassinations. Last week's terror attacks in Mumbai, which left at least 183 dead, would be classified as a series of coordinated facility attacks.
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