The North-Eastern state of Assam was today rocked by a series of 13 explosions, including four in the capital Guwahati, which left at least 61 people dead and more than a 470 injured.
The four blasts in Guwahati took place at Ganesh-guri, near the state secretariat and assembly, near the deputy commissioner’s office, Fancy Bazaar and Pan Bazaar. According to reports, the explosions went of within a span of 30 minutes, with the first one taking place at a vegetable market at Ganeshguri at around 11.30 am.
There were also reports of serial blasts in Barpeta, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar, all in lower Assam.
With many of the injured in a critical condition, the casualty figure is likely to rise. According to preliminary reports, 18 were killed in the Guwahati blasts alone and another two in blasts in other places in lower Assam.
All four blasts in Guwahati went off in crowded places, and was aimed at ensuring maximum damage and casualties. Later, the police imposed a curfew in the city to control the irate mobs that went on a rampage, damaging police vehicles after the blasts.
A sense of fear enveloped Guwhati. Assam. Withy the North-East being industrially-backward, industry in the state is concerned with the deterioration in the security situation as it feels it would further affect industrialisation.
Condemning the blasts, R S Joshi, president of Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), the premier trade and industry body of the region, said such terror strikes would surely affect business sentiment in the state.
“We, domestic inves-tors, have been living with such a situation for long, but our concern is that out-side investors would find it further hard to venture into the region,” said Joshi.
“What is needed in Assam is massive investments and so we have been trying outside investors to come and invest here. But if such blasts occur they would surely be reluctant to come here,” Joshi added, although he said that terror strikes, unlike militancy which is mostly North-East confined, has now become a countrywide phenomena in India.
