Uneasy calm prevails in Delhi | Deserted markets

New Delhi: A day after the five bomb blasts ripped through the Capital, popular markets wore a deserted look on Sunday as people preferred to stay indoors.

Though an uneasy calm prevailed in the morning at Gaffar Market, Connaught Place and Greater Kailash, which bore the brunt of the serial blast, some shoppers did not let go of the opportunity to visit the markets.

Majority of the shops in the busy Gaffar Market area of Karol Bagh area were open and the blast site cordoned off. By evening, most of the shops had fairly good number of people.

Minor traffic jams were also witnessed at some places in the area.

Hawk-eyed security personnel maintained a strict vigil on the public movement and frisked people at metro stations and busy corners.

President of the Confederation of Indian Traders, Praveen Khandelawal, said in most of the markets, the traders were scared that blasts might occur again and thus though the shops were open, there was not much enthusiasm.

The capital shopkeepers also held a meeting in the afternoon and decided to ask the government for citizen patrolling.

In Connaught Place, employees of business establishments were seen huddled together, recounting the horrific scenes after the two quick explosions claimed several lives in the area.

Meanwhile, police conducted searches at the sites which have been cordoned off after the blast. The blast sites presented a gory picture with tell-tale marks of blood and personal belonging of the victims strewn on the pavement, normally crowded with shoppers.

Garbage bins across the city were in the limelight as curious passers-by cast a look at the green and blue containers, where many explosives of the serial blasts were kept by the perpetrators.

Most of these waste collectors were kept upside down, throwing their nauseating contents on the ground at many places in the city.

At the Central Park in Connaught Place, all bins were were kept upside down and their contents were scattered all over.

Inquisitive visitors at blast sites like Central Park and Barakhamba road were seen taking pictures of the garbage bins along with the blast spots on their cellphone cameras.

The Central Park, meanwhile, was closed for public in the aftermath of the blasts today. The area also saw a considerable presence of police and para-military personnel.(With PTI inputs)