Blasts shake Bangalore, but IT spirit unscathed

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Home to 40% of the country’s technology industry, Bangalore was rocked by serial blasts—seven within a span of 15 minutes—on Friday. The blasts killed one person, injured at least seven and exposed the vulnerability of the country’s key industrial and financial centres to possible terrorist attacks.

The low-intensity blasts were directed at securing the attention of IT companies. The first bomb exploded at 1.30 pm at Madivala, half a km from IT-BPO major MphasiS office and a km from a unit of Wipro. The explosive content used equalled roughly two grenades’, Bangalore police commissioner Shankar Bidri said.

The IT industry body, Nasscom, said the blasts would reflect badly on the industry, while industry captains mostly kept up the faith.

Ganesh Natarajan, chairman, Nasscom, said, “Bangalore being the IT hub of the country, any kind of negative image is bad for the industry. It is a sad development and puts a question mark on the safety of the city.”

But Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said, there would be no imnpact on investments in the long run. “There is no city or country in the world without a hole in the security systems,” she said.

Vijay K Thadani, CEO, NIIT, also said, “These are isolated instances. So, I feel there will be no impact on the Indian IT industry. Despite so many terrorist attacks, the attractiveness of India as an investment destination has not changed.”