Bangalore, July 26 (IANS) India’s IT hub was back in business Saturday, a day after eight serial blasts hit the city killing one woman and injuring seven people. But concern over the once-safe city becoming vulnerable to terror attacks was uppermost among the residents. “The situation is normal. There is no panic among the people. We have stepped up vigilance to prevent recurrence of such incidents,” a police spokesperson said.

Saturday being holiday for several private schools and most of the IT and IT related offices, there were fewer vehciles on the roads than on weekdays.

Multiplexes and shopping malls opened as usual but all bags were being checked carefully. The shop managers were unsure whether the usual weekend evening crowd would arrive a day after the blasts, all low-intensity ones, that occurred in a span of one hour between 1.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. Friday.

Conversation among commuters in the state-run city transport system, at restaurants and in government and private companies’ offices, centred around the terror acts, with people offering various theories on the suspects and their intention.

The common refrain was that Bangalore, which has already lost its old world charm as a pensioners’ paradise and the tag of an ‘air-conditioned city’ for its cool climate, may be on the way to losing the tag of a safe and peaceful place too.

While government offices and private firms reported near normal attendance, many parents chose not send their wards to schools which were open Saturday.

Through the night the police had checked vehicles entering and leaving Bangalore and also kept a watch on the movement of people at the three railway stations in the city, looking for suspects behind the blasts.

“We are working on various leads and are confident of cracking the case and nabbing the culprits soon,” a police official told IANS, declining to be identified and to give details of the leads.