BANGALORE: Normal work in IT and ITeS firms in Bangalore were affected today as serial bomb blasts rocked and spread panic in the city known as the Silicon Valley of India.
As the news of the blasts spread, concerned employees were seen talking on the phones with dear and near ones, passing the information as well as enquiring about their safety.
Many firms asked their staff to go home, while some others asked employees not to step out of the office to avoid any harm to them.
As television news channels beamed the news nationwide, worried relatives outside Karnataka also made calls to their family members in Bangalore.
The city is home to many non-Kannada professionals also. Telephone lines bore the brunt of the calls and were jammed at the time of filing this report.
When contacted, an Infosys spokesperson said the firm is collecting information and has not yet decided whether to send employees home for the day. Bangalore police commissioner Shankar Bidri, meanwhile, appealed for calm and said people should go about their normal activities. Bomb squads have sung into action in the city.
According to reports, 2 people were killed and 20 others injured, as six blasts took place at various parts of the city. Low intensity crude bombs are suspected to have triggered the multiple blasts within a span of 12 minutes around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Incidentally, JC Nagar and its neighbouring areas witnessed violence on July 11 following rumours of desecration of a place of worship. It is not immediately known whether today’s blasts are connected with the J.C. Nagar violence.