Day that shook Zaveri Bazaar

One of the sites of the triple blasts, the jostling market was a wreck with spattered blood and shattered glass Three days after the city remembered the victims of the July 11 blasts, the city reverberated again with the sounds of explosions that occurred in three places across the city. One of the spots, where the blasts occurred was terror targets favourite spot Zaveri Bazaar.Vehicles and destroyed furniture lie in one distorted heap after the blastThe site of the blast was Road 3, Agiari Galli, and people in the area told MiD DAY that the explosion took place at 6.45 pm amid the crowds. Hundreds of people had collected in the area, as the place is known for its vegetarian food. One eyewitness said that the blast happened near a parked motorcycle located at a food stall called Mohanlal Pudlawala. It was like the tremors of an earthquake. I came out of my shop and all I could see was damaged cars on the road, and approximately 90 people injured, said Dinesh Bafna, an eyewitness.According to official reports, the triple blasts have claimed 17 lives and injured 81 others. However, the maximum casualties are reported from Zaveri Bazaar. One of the stall owners near the food stall, which exploded died on the spot, revealed another eyewitness.Another bystander revealed that the blasts claimed maximum casualties owing to the timing of the bomb. It was peak time in the area, as the entire lane was crowded. So many people were injured owing to the blasts but many others got hurt in the stampede following the blast, said Nimesh Somani. Even though, people were struck by fear owing to the blasts, residents and other survivors rushed into action and began the search and rescue operation. A forensic expert at the blast siteWe did not wait for the police and the fire brigade. We began to rush the injured and dying to hospitals by ourselves by carrying them on our shoulders. We almost completed the rescue operation when the police reached, 45 minutes later, said an eyewitness who did not wished to be named.Somani added they heard two explosions. One was a high-intensity blast whereas the second one was comparatively lower. Describing the graphic scenes and the gruesome details, he added that they covered people with bed sheets.High on terror listZaveri Bazaar has been high on the radar of terrorists for almost two decades now with their first attempt made in 1993.u00a0The market was first targeted in August 1993 when 13 serial blasts rocked the country's financial capital killing 257 people and injuring over 700 others.u00a0The police had then succeeded in defusing a bomb kept in a scooter parked at Zaveri Bazaar. However, the terrorists were successful in August 2003 when blasts at the Bazaar claimed 54 lives.Locals help outMinutes after the blast at Zaveri Bazar, local residents rushed to the spot to help out with the rescue operations.Residents at Agari Lane, the blast site at the Zaveri Bazar, feel that the police was late to arrive on the scene, and did not help in the rescue operations.The cops arrived late and did not do much. It was the residents that rescued the victims, and rushed them to the hospital. Some even carried them on their shoulders, said a local resident on condition of anonymity.Residents also said that they are now accustomed to living in the shadow of danger, as this was the third blast in the area in the past few years.We have learnt our lesson. Instead of waiting and depending on the police, we must be prepared to do our work as these cops never do much but always stake their claim for the rescue work, said another resident.