Post London blasts leave Gujaratis worried

London blasts leave Gujaratis worried

London blasts leave Gujaratis worried They make frantic calls to know if relatives, children studying there are safe.
Express News Service Ahmedabad/Vadodara July 7:

As news of the blasts in London were flashed by TV news channels, Gujaratis started making frantic calls to know if their friends and relatives there were safe. A large proportion of non-resident Indians (NRIs) is made up of Gujaratis, who have a strong presence in the U.K., particularly in London. By Thursday afternoon, cybercafes in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and other cities and towns in the state were crowded with people wanting to shoot off e-mails or call up London using net-to-phone connections. ‘‘It took us more than an hour before we could contact my uncle and his family,’ said Krishna Brahmbhatt of Ahmedabad. ‘‘We heard of the blasts from a relative, who wanted to know if we’d contacted my uncle Samir in London. Thankfully, everyone is okay. They plan to spend the day at home today,’’ she said, adding that her family had been tense for a couple of hours before establishing contact. Harshad Patel, principal of Alembic School, Vadodara, was happy to know that his son was in office while the incident took place. ‘‘We got news that he is safe but we are not able to contact him now because the lines are jammed. He told us the explosions were quite severe and Indians are scared.’’ News of the blasts shocked Shaheena Limbada of Vadodara, whose sister lives in Finchley, London. ‘‘We were relieved to know they are all fine, except that her husband was stuck in an underground station for nearly 40 minutes,’’ she said. News of the blasts shocked Shaheena Limbada of Vadodara, whose sister lives in Finchley, London. ‘‘We were relieved to know they are all fine, except that her husband was stuck in an underground station for nearly 40 minutes,’’ she said. There were families who had sent children to study there. P.Y. Srivastava says she was in office when her husband called her up and told her of the blasts. ‘‘My son Satyendra is in central London, so I was worried. I had a tough time reaching him. I called up a relative in Mumbai, whose daughter is also studying there to see if they had any news of my son,’’ she said. ‘‘Meanwhile, my son who was online sent a message through a friend here that he was safe. Later, he called up and I was glad to hear his voice.’’ Ashok Patel and his wife sat by the phone waiting to get the news from their son. ‘‘Our son Maulik has been there for more than three years now and we were dying to hear from him. For some reason, he could not contact us and hence he called up one of our relatives, who told us that he was well,’’ said Patel, who lives in Vastrapur. Fazal and Rehana Vohra of Vadodara were worried about their son Aarif, who’s studying at the London School of Commerce. ‘‘We couldn’t get through despite several attempts,’’ said Rehana. ‘‘Relatives were calling up, and we didn’t have word from him. Then he called up to say he was safe and we were relieved.’’ There were those whose family members had gone on short trips. Deepak Panchal, a bank employee who lives in Sola, said he was worried for his wife Maya, a singer who is touring London and has shows planned till Diwali. ‘‘I was tense till I talked to her,’’ he said. ‘‘Fortunately, Maya had not ventured out today from our relatives’ where she’s put up. All are safe.’’ Said Saurabh Patel of Cyber Space, a cybercafe in the Satellite area of Ahmedabad, ‘‘About 4 p.m. people from nearby places started coming in to make calls to the UK. In the next two hours or so there were at least 20 people who made UK calls from my place.’’ Some families with relatives in London tried to stay together for comfort, since getting across by phone was difficult. Modi extends help to NRGsCHIEF Minister Narendra Modi has extended help to families of Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRGs) affected in Thursday’s London blasts. Modi has written to the British High Commission at New Delhi, in this connection seeking information about the probable casualties to people of Gujarati origin, said CMO sources. Modi has requested the Commission at New Delhi to inform him about the casualties to Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRGs) who probably might have got injured in the serial blasts which shook the captial of United Kingdom.