Tata Motors parent company, Tata Group, owns the Taj Mahal Hotel at the center of the deadly attacks in Mumbai ending this morning. News the same company producing the Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world, also owns one of the largest and nicest hotels in India shouldn't come as a surprise given the Tata Group owns almost 100 companies with operations in 85 countries. Ratan Tata, chairman of both Tata Group as well as Tata Motors, said the hotel had been warned of a possible attack and had increased security over the past few weeks but claimed it was not enough to stop given what he claims were a series of well-planned, well-organized attacks. Ratan Tata, in the same interview with Fareed Zakeria, went on to criticize the preparedness of the Indian officials. Which is interesting seeing as the hotel had returned to a normal level of security shortly before this week's terror attacks.
"We were getting the cooperation that they could give us, but the infrastructure was woefully poor," he said,
As an example, Tata said it took three hours for firefighters to get water to the Taj after a blaze broke out in the oldest part of the building.
"We had people who died being shot through bulletproof vests," he added.
Tata said that not even the army or commandoes who ultimately took over the offensive were prepared for the level of organization and execution that the attackers seemed to have put into their plan.
Though obviously deflecting with his response, Tata did say he believed the country will come together.
[CNN]