N-E folk back to city with a smile

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The faces which had only showed fear and panic while fleeing the city on August 15 were smiling as they returned to the city on Tuesday morning at around 4 am. Around 1,000 people from the Northeast returned to Bengaluru on Tuesday morning by a special train arranged by the Assam government which left Guwahati on Sept. 1. Another train is expected to leave Guwahati on September 8.

“On Tuesday nearly 1,000 people embarked at the City Railway station from the Northeast and different parts of West Bengal. But there was no extra rush at the station. Depending on the requirement, we will decide till when we should continue with the special trains. All those who returned have expressed satisfaction with the security being provided by the government for their protection,” said a senior official of the South Western Railways. Mr Bipin Pal, a native of Siliguri in West Bengal, said: “I am very happy to come back to the city. I, along with my brother had left the city on August 15. But once we came to know that that the rumours were baseless, we decided to come back, though our family back home were sceptical about us returning. Having confidence in the government and police here, we came back.”

As the train special train ferrying people from the North East entered Platform 3 of the City Railway station on Tuesday morning, North Easterners who had made the city their home for years, got off to embrace the city once again. One of the passengers, Mr Gopal Krishna, said, “I came to Bengaluru in 2004. I have been living in R.T. Nagar since then and I work as a security guard. On August 16, my friends frightened me and I had no choice but to leave the city. Two days after I reached my hometown, I got to know that the panic was only due of rumours. Since I left my job in the middle of the month I was afraid that I might get sacked. However, when I called my company, the manager assured me that I could come back and my job would be given to me.

“My parents, however, cautioned me while I was leaving. However, the manager of my company had assured me of my safety here. Also I came to know that the Bengaluru police had made enough arrangements for our security here, so I decided to come back and took the special train on September 1.”