Oh dear! The moment we returned from the Academy for Creative Teaching, the news was broadcasting the detonation of 7 bombs across the city in the span 45 minutes. So far, 1 person was killed and 7 injured. We were very lucky as the school we were visiting was directly across the street from one of the bomb sites at a bus depot – we missed that by approximately 15 minutes. Needless to say, our museum visits for the afternoon were cancelled as the city is in the process of shutting down. All schools, malls, and cinemas are closed. The city is a bit shocked as Bengaluru is not usually a target for terrorists or militants; the bombs are believed to be the work of anti-nationalists. The good news is that we all have time to read, post our pictures, email our loved ones, rest and/or exercise.
More news later…
Photo courtesy ZeeNews Bureau
This is one of the many articles posted in the The Hindu, India’s National Newspaper the day after the blasts, July 25th, 2008:
Serial Blasts Rattle Bangalore; Woman Killed
Seven injured in eight low-intensity explosions
A series of low intensity blasts on Friday rocked the southern and central parts of Bangalore, a city that has of late been on the radar of terror groups. One person was killed and seven were injured in the eight explosions that created panic among residents and threw traffic out of gear on a rainy working day. President Prtibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts. Ms. Patil said the blast was aimed at disturbing peace in the country. Dr. Singh asked the people to remain calm and maintain communal harmony. The series of blasts has not only marred Bangalore’s reputation of being a safe city but also highlighted again that the city is not insulated from such acts.
Bangaloreans hit the panic button as news – and rumours – of the serial blasts reached them. Even as schools made arrangements to sent the children safely back to their homes, several workplaces downed their shutters and let their anxious employees go home early. The surge of frantic calls jammed cellphone networks and thousands of commuters jammed all the arterial roads. Fear gripped residents as they watched the sequence of events unfold on their television sets. With thousands of people trying to contact their friends and relatives to make sure they were okay, much of the telecom network failed for several hours, only adding to the panic.
Meanwhile, our group remained calm, though eager for news of the status of the safety of the city. Although the afternoon activities were cancelled, most of us ventured out to nearby sari shops and bookstores in small groups of two and three. Gagan seemed confident that our evening dinner at Rachana’s house would be safe, so the five of us prepared for our evening outing by donning our new Indian attire of saris and salwar-kameez suits.
