Another injured, Ravindra Kumar Singh, is grateful for the timely help offered by a stranger. “I had splinters in my legs and abdomen and was bleeding profusely. If the person had not helped me in time, I would not have survived,” he says.

As the people here still struggle to recover from the horror of Tuesday’s serial blasts, Jaipur has emerged as the city that cares. Where strangers loaded the injured into their personal vehicles and rushed them to hospital. And where thousands queued up outside hospitals to donate blood.

In fact, hospitals had to turn away many people who wanted to donate blood as they didn’t have sufficient storage facilities. Within hours of the blasts, hundreds of students and social workers trooped into hospitals to donate blood. Long queues were seen outside hospital blood banks.

“As soon as we heard about the incident, we decided to donate blood. That was the least that we could do for the people of our city who have been hit by such a tragedy,” says Arvind Kumar, an engineering student.

“We were able to secure blood for 30-odd patients who underwent operations within three hours of the incident. We also stocked about 900 more units of blood, but had to turn away many others as we don’t have the facility to stock more units,” says Dr Ashok Panagariya, Dean, SMS Medical College & Hospital. In all, 600 units of blood were used for the victims.

“However, as everyone who came to the hospital insisted on donating blood, their names were added to a list of people who could be contacted in case there was a need for blood. The list now has the names of over 2,500 residents, all willing to be at the hospital at any time of day or night,” he adds.

A group of students and residents also came forward to offer services like transportation of dead bodies. Many could be seen outside the mortuary and the emergency ward, offering their personal vehicles for the grieving families.

The Muslim community leaders also pitched in. The Shanti Samiti, a committee formed by the local administration after the last riots in the city to maintain communal harmony in the Muslim-dominated Ramganj area, prepared a list of young volunteers who were ready to donate blood and offer any other help required.

“As soon as we heard about the incident, we prepared a list of volunteers from the area and asked the local administration to permit us to move to the hospital during curfew to let us help with the relief work. We will never let the terrorists’ plan to disturb communal peace succeed,” says Abdul Qadir, a member of the Samiti.

And help continues to pour in even four days after the blasts. Stalls have been set up outside the SMS Hospital to distribute free packets of necessary items for relatives of the injured. Organisations like the RSS and Dera Sacha Sauda have also come forward to help the needy.

Probe update

• A SIMI activist is detained by Rajasthan Police

• Sketches of three more persons are released

• A reward of Rs 10 lakh is announced for providing clues about terrorists

• In Varanasi, submission of identification, address proofs is made a must for buying cycles