IT professionals worst-hit

Many young IT professionals were at the receiving end of the blast at German Bakery,a hotspot among youngsters,on Saturday....

Many young IT professionals were at the receiving end of the blast at German Bakery,a hotspot among youngsters,on Saturday. Two employees of Amdocs 22-year-old Binita Gadani of Mumbai and 21-year-old T Sinduri of Hyderabad were among the nine dead while five youngsters,all employees of a leading IT firm in the city,are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the city.

Parents of both Sinduri and Gadani reached the city in the morning and identified the bodies. Friends who came to Sassoon Hospital after getting to know of the tragedy found it difficult to console the grieving parents. We are shattered; there are no words to express our feelings, said one of them.

Five youths,all employees of Hinjewadi-based Tech Mahindra,were among the injured. They had gone to German Bakery after seeing off a friend at the railway station. Two of them were placing orders when the blast took place. They have been admitted to Ruby Hall while three are undergoing treatment at Medi Point. They suffered cuts and burns. They are all recovering now, a colleague said.

Though shaken,the foreigners in the city do not seem to have been terrified by the German Bakery blast. Less than 24 hours later,their reactions seemed quite the opposite.

James Myers,a resident of London,who has been in the city for the last four weeks,felt there was nothing unsafe about the city. I keep shuttling down to Pune on official purposes frequently. While the residents are peaceful and so is the place,one such bomb blast cannot really make it unsafe. Blasts happened in London too,but we didnt have foreigners running away from our nation,and why should I be doing something like that here?

While most foreigners who live in the Koregaon Park area are regulars at the Osho Ashram,which is within walking distance of German Bakery,the area also houses a lot of tourists and foreigners who work with the MNCs in the city.

I was home when I heard the blast,which rattled my windows. My family was scared when we heard of the blasts,and since we used to frequent the German Bakery,it was a shocker for us. But we wont be leaving Pune. Its a safe place. I have been here for the past two years and it has been good enough for me, said Boris Engel from Germany.