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| Gujarat limps back to normalcy; more explosives found |
| BS Reporter / Ahmedabad Jul 28, 2008, 19:11 IST |
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An uneasy calm prevailed in Gujarat today as the state crawled back to normalcy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accompanied by UPA president Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil visited the state.
Gujarat police continued to recover bombs and explosives in some parts of the state.
A day after serial blasts ripped the city apart claiming 46 lives, the Ahmedabad police on Sunday nabbed Abdul Haleem from the Dani Limda area of the city. Haleem, suspected to have links with Islamic outfit Ahle Hadeez was produced before a local court today. The court sent Haleem to police custody till August 10 for interrogation in connection to the recent blasts. The Gujarat police was on the look out for Haleem, who hails from Uttar Pradesh and was settled in Ahmedabad since 1980, in connection with the 2002 communal riots.
Meanwhile, Surat police today seized a live bomb in Varacha area. Senior police officials say the department has got some leads into the car bombs which went off at Civil hospital in Ahmedabad as well as the abandoned car carrying explosives in Surat.
As life started coming back to the normal, several industrial estates in the state witnessed skeletal presence of the workforce. Industrial estates witnessed a low worker turnout. “Around 40 per cent of shops remained closed in Ahmedabad on account of fear,” said Sunil Gandhi, chairman of Gujarat Garment Manufacturing Association. Other industrial estates like Vatva and Naroda too witnessed very less activity.
Acitivity was limited in business districts located in some of the communally sensitive areas of the city. However, industry sources say apart from the fear factor, the low attendance was also on account of the heavy rains that lashed several parts of the state and the consequent flooding.
As a measure of caution, the Vadodara commissioner of police convened a meeting, which lasted for a marathon five hours to discuss the situation.
Industrial houses like Reliance Industries Ltd and Essar too stepped up the vigil at their refineries and other business establishments. While Reliance is already exploring possibilities of roping in top international security agencies for providing world-class security at its refinery and special economic zone in Jamnagar and Hazira, an Essar official said, “ We have made adequate security measures at all our ports, terminals, refinery and steel plants.”
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