Church Street open up about blast

For most shopkeepers and workers on Church Street, immune to frequent transformer explosion in the area, the enormity of the low-intensity blast on the fateful Sunday night, did not sink in, till crowds began collecting and sense of panic began to prevail over the bustling street, teeming with people.

Two days after the blast, that claimed a woman’s life and left three injured, eye-witnesses Deccan Herald spoke to, opened up on the shocking incident. Mani, security at gaming centre, who was about 20 meters away from the spot, said the noise did not trouble him until he saw people panic.

“The transformer nearby keeps exploding making the same noise. I thought it was so. However, I sensed something amiss as power did not go off. The hubbub that followed as people began dispersing, I understood a bomb had exploded,” he recalled.

Blossoms Book Store owner Mahe Gowda, said he too thought the sound had come from the transformer, until a woman informed him there had been a bomb blast.

Amoeba Gaming Unit Manager Shekar said, though he was aware of the incident, he did not inform those inside the gaming zone, to avoid panic.

“Had I made an announcement, there would have been a scramble. We did not want anyone to panic, slowly leading them out. We escorted customers till the parking lot and made sure they drove away safe,” he added. Shekar, who was in the basement, had earlier mistook the noise for a cracker.

On Tuesday, a posse of 50 policemen were deployed to keep close vigil on Church Street. According to a business man, police officers gathered CCTV footages from buildings around the blast site.

Karnataka Civil Defence Commanding Officer & Chief Warden (Civil Defence) P R S Chetan said 200 members from the force, helped police to patrol the street.

“There are seven to eight teams in the Central Range. Each team has 10 members doing random checks underneath parked cars and screening people’s baggage with metal detectors. They will be on duty round the clock working in shifts till new year,” he added.
Besides M G Road and Church Street, the corps have also been assisting police conduct checks around the City.