A sudden drop in crowds wanting to leave Bangalore forces railways to cancel two special trains on Saturday.
After a little over 30,000 Northeasterners left Bangalore over the past four days in one of the biggest exodus that the city has seen, it is finally waning. A strong indication of that was the fact that South Western Railways (SWR) were forced to cancel two special trains on Saturday which they had planned from the city railway station, assuming that huge crowds would again throng the premises.
However, when only 250-300 Northeasterners arrived at the railway station, SWR officials decided to cancel the two special trains which could have accommodated over 3,000.
Deputy chief minister R Ashoka (he also holds the home portfolio) said only 250 people from the north-eastern states left Bangalore on Saturday. “The two special trains scheduled to leave for Guwahati on Saturday were cancelled as they required about 3,000 people to run the special trains,” he said.
Those who arrived at the city railway station were requested to go to Yeshwanthpur railway station, where an additional coach was attached to the Yeshwanthpur-Howrah Express to accommodate the 300 North-easterners who were leaving Bangalore.
Union minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa visited Bangalore on Saturday and appreciated the work done by SWR and its Bangalore division in particular, announcing `1 lakh for the former and `2 lakh for the latter for ensuring that the fleeing masses could at least travel in convenience thanks to the swift action of adding special trains.
The South Western Railways had to cancel five Hindupur-bound trains, two Shravanbelagola, two Nagor and two Hubli-bound trains to facilitate accommodate the special trains to Guwahati to clear the desperate crowds.
At least 151 coaches were attached to the special trains and among them were 10 new coaches supplied by BEML, he said.
Meanwhile, a delegation of MPs from the north-east states is scheduled to visit Bangalore on Sunday. From p1
The MPs will seek to instil confidence and boost the sagging morale of the north-eastern citizens of Bangalore who are gripped by rumours-induced fears of being targeted for attacks post Ramazan to avenge the recent bloody Assam riots.
DG and IG of Police, Lalrokhuma Pachau, on Saturday, assured, “We have made all the security arrangements to avoid any kind of attacks. People from north-eastern states can live without fear in Bangalore. They fear that they might be attacked, but we have conducted investigations so far and registered some cases and taken all precautionary measures to prevent that.”
However, despite the assurances and the concrete steps being taken by the authorities to make them feel safe in Bangalore, if the north-eastern citizens preferred to leave for Guwahati, SWR officials assured that adequate security would be provided to them on the train.
But going by the sudden drop in crowds of north-easterners wanting to leave Bangalore, Saturday brought much hope to Bangalore.
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