Exodus wanes as calm settles in
There were fewer people who were fleeing the city at the railway station on Sunday. Since there were no special trains to Guwahati from the city, there was a rush on trains to Chennai as there are direct trains from Chennai to Guwahati. The rush increased on Sunday afternoon as a good number of people going to North-Eastern states booked their tickets at the Bangalore City Railway station. Passengers hoped to board trains to Guwhati from Chennai. There were many who waited all day on Sunday to board the Mysore-Howrah train at 3 am on Monday.
Inspite of the beefed-up police security in the city, fear-stricken North Easterners wanted to leave the city at any cost. Said Mr Subash Rai from Assam, “Unity is strength and since most of our friends and family have left the city, we do not want to stay here. It’s better we leave immediately and come back to the city when things settle down .” Mr Sangya, who was waiting at the station since Sunday morning to board the Howrah train on Monday, said, “My family and I left our residence at Madivala early morning. We feel more secure in the railway station since there are a lot of cops around. Even though we have to wait all night, we feel it’s better here than at our place.”
RPF officials deployed at the station told Deccan Chronicle, “Compared to the past few days, there is less of a crowd. A few people had approached us enquiring about direct trains to Guwahati. Since there are no direct trains, we directed them to Yeshwantpur as there is a train to Howrah from there.”
Deputy Station Manager Umesh Naik said, “Till Sunday afternoon, only a few people have come to the station to book tickets to Guwahati. Though there is no direct train, they wanted to board trains to Chennai. A train to Guwahati from Chennai is on Monday morning, so they can board the train there. A special train to Guwahati from the city is on Wednesday again”. A number of people also thronged Yeshwantpur Railway Station to take trains to Howrah on Sunday evening.
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