Mumbai yesterday paused to remember the 166 victims of the 2008 terror strikes.
The official commemoration event was held at Police Gymkhana where Maharashtra Governor C V Rao laid a wreath and led the state in paying homage to all those who lost their lives in the terror attacks carried out by 10 Pakistani gunmen.
Present on the occasion were Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Director-General of Police Satish Mathur, Mumbai Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar and other senior officials.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray, Mumbai Guardian Minister Subhash Desai, several parliamentarians and legislators also attended.
The guests included the widows, orphans and other family members of the martyrs and victims, besides train and bus commuters and the common Mumbaikars.
Former top cops including Julio F Ribeiro, R H Mendonca, D Shivanandan and other dignitaries also paid homage.
The 10 heavily armed militants, who sneaked in through the Arabian Sea and landed at Colaba seashore in a rubber dingy, struck at multiple locations within a small geographical area in south Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
The attacks and the counter-terror operations by multiple security agencies, continued for 60 hours from the night of November 26 till the dawn November 29.
Functions were also organised at targeted sites like Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Hotel Trident-Oberoi, Nariman House-Chabad House, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital and others.
Earlier, chairman of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front, M S Bitta, actor Sonu Sood, Maharashtra anti-terror squad chief Atul Kulkarni and other senior officials honoured the families of the martyred police officials with a trophy at a function held in the Anjuman-e-Islam School where over 20,000 students were present.
Hotel Taj Mahal Palace partnered with The Sea Hawks and Wing Commander Paramvir Singh by commencing an open water 1,000km-long swim, intended to break the existing world record in this category.
Former Congress legislator Krishna Hegde organised a 2.5km-long Spirit of Youth Walk from Mithibai College to Gandhi memorial at Juhu Beach in which over 2,000 students and celebrities like ex-cricketer Karsan Ghavri, Irrfan Khan, Sanjay Chhel, Sameer Soni, Imaam Siddique and others joined.
The famous dabbawallas of Mumbai organised a rally from Girgaum Chowpatty to Azad Maidan in which thousands of the tiffin box carriers and members of the public participated.
The Public Concern for Governance Trust and NCPA organised an event ‘Unity in Diversity – Together We Remember 26/11’ at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre.
Several other functions, a commemorative concert by the Symphony Orchestra of India and a dance recital by Bharat S Gakkai and screening of a documentary film Hum Sab Ek Hain marked the day.