Day after, Jaipur wears a deserted look

Agencies Posted: May 14, 2008 at 1444 hrs
Jaipur, May 14 The pink city of Jaipur, which turned red on Tuesday evening with eight serial bomb blasts ripping through it, wore a deserted look on Wednesday as the state government offices remained closed as mark of respect to the dead.

While 15 police station were put under curfew as a precautionary measure in the wake of the terror strike, the usual hustle-bustle of traffic and tourists was absent from the streets with people by and large preferring to remain indoors.

Shops and business establishments remained shut as the city came to terms with the first-ever terror strike on it.

Khaki-clad firemen were seen this morning removing blood stains on roads in the areas in the old city where the dead and the injured fell.

Sawai Mansingh and other hospitals, where the 118 wounded people were admitted, were filled with relatives attending to the victims. Of the 63 killed, 44 bodies have been identified and handed over to the next of the kin.

There was also palpable fear among the panic stricken people in the walled city which was hit by the eight blasts, the first of which took place shortly after 7 pm on Tuesday. Meanwhile, forensic officials were seen shuffling through the remains at the blast sites along with the policemen who kept a strict vigil during the day.

Barricades have been put up at the border posts of the city and a thorough check of vehicles entering and leaving it was being carried out.

The national flag atop government offices was lowered as a mark of respect to the dead.