The day after serial blasts rocked Mumbai, the country's commercial capital wore a rain-soaked, deserted look, as roads, local trains and offices were less crowded.

The serial blasts had killed 18 and injured 131 people. The city, nevertheless, saw the heavy presence of politicians, with the Union Home Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, visiting the three sites late on Wednesday. The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, arrived on Thursday night to express their solidarity with Mumbaikars.

Admitting that there was no intelligence input either from the Central or State intelligence agencies on the Wednesday's blasts, Mr Chidambaram, however, added that the blasts cannot be seen “as an attack on the markets or the commercial capital of the country.” The sites could have been chosen because of the density of population there, he said

In New Delhi, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, condemned the “cowardly terrorist attack”, adding that the indomitable spirit of the financial capital of India would once again respond with courage and renewed vigour.

True to his statement, the turnover of shares traded cumulatively on BSE and NSE was higher than the previous day. Total turnover on the two exchanges was Rs 14,517 crore on Thursday, up 17 per cent from Wednesday (Rs 12,355 crore).

In the past too, such events have not had much effect on the stock market, said Mr P. Phani Sekhar of Angel Broking. Mr Kekin Maru of Networth Stock Broking, added, “There may have been a slight impact on the bond, forex and bullion markets.”

Citizens shaken by the blasts had no choice but to make their way to work. In fact, corporates attributed drop in attendance, if any, to the heavy showers lashing Mumbai since morning, and the consequent delays in local train services.

Close to the blast site near Opera House, it was business as usual for the branch of State Bank of India. The branch claimed full attendance with all 35 staff reporting for work, according to a senior official from the branch. “Our regular customers also came in for their routine transactions,'' the official added.

A policeman posted at the Kabutarkhana bus stop, another blast site being thronged now by curious onlookers, was thankful for the rains: “It's a good thing that it is raining; otherwise, we would have had to man a larger crowd.”

Retail Pinch

But, retail establishments did feel the brunt of the serial blasts. According to the Hotel and Restaurants Association of Western India, some restaurants in South Mumbai had to shut down ahead of their closing time as business was slow on Wednesday night. On the day of the blasts, at stores running ‘End of Season' sales like Pantaloons, shoppers cut short their shopping and rushed home on hearing the news of the blasts, or postponed their trip to the store, a Future Group spokesperson said. Also taking a tail-spin was some Mumbaikars' plans to see the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing cancelled its plan to bring the aircraft to Mumbai, following the serial blasts.

(With inputs from New Delhi Bureau)

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