Northeastern students continue to flee
18 Aug 2012 6:06 AM IST
Driven by the rumours of impending attacks, the exodus of people hailing from the Northeast spread from Bengaluru to neighbouring cities on the third day on Friday.
Notwithstanding assurances of safety given by the centre and the Karnataka government to the people of the Northeast, hordes of them living in Mysore, Mangalore and Kodagu made a beeline to the railway ticket counters here to return to their states. More than 15,000 people have left Karnataka cities in the past two days, officials said.
The Railways had sold 9,718 tickets for the two special trains that headed to Guwahati on Saturday night, the divisional railway manager, Bengaluru, Anil Kumar Agarwal, said this morning. In Chennai, over 1,000 people from the Northeast were reported to have taken trains out of the city.
Officials estimate the number of people from the Northeast, including students, residing in Bengaluru in the range of 2.5 lakh and 2.75 lakh.
The issue of the exodus dominated parliamentary proceedings on Friday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that miscreants spreading rumours should be brought to book and noted that at stake is not just unity and integrity of the country, but also its communal harmony.
A resolution passed in the Rajya Sabha expressed 'serious concern at the feeling of persecution of our brothers and sisters of the Northastern states, who are leaving various cities and returning to the Northeast'.
The Karnataka government continued to reach out to the community urging them to stay on and assured them that it is committed to safeguarding their lives and property in the state. 'We on behalf of the people of Karnataka and the government once again reassure the people of the Northeastern community that they are safe and welcome in Karnataka,' the government said in an advertisement, signed by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and the home minister R Ashoka.
The state government has decided to deploy six companies of the Rapid Action Force in different parts of the city to instil a sense of confidence among the panic-stricken community.
As rumours spread thick and fast, the Andhra Pradesh Police reassured people from the Northeast region of their safety. 'Hyderabad is known for its communal harmony...and I am assuring the Assamese people of their safety and they should not panic by rumours. For the past two days, we are reviewing the situation. No attacks [on Assamese] happened in Hyderabad,' the state director general of police V Dinesh Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad on Friday.
Notwithstanding assurances of safety given by the centre and the Karnataka government to the people of the Northeast, hordes of them living in Mysore, Mangalore and Kodagu made a beeline to the railway ticket counters here to return to their states. More than 15,000 people have left Karnataka cities in the past two days, officials said.
The Railways had sold 9,718 tickets for the two special trains that headed to Guwahati on Saturday night, the divisional railway manager, Bengaluru, Anil Kumar Agarwal, said this morning. In Chennai, over 1,000 people from the Northeast were reported to have taken trains out of the city.
Officials estimate the number of people from the Northeast, including students, residing in Bengaluru in the range of 2.5 lakh and 2.75 lakh.
The issue of the exodus dominated parliamentary proceedings on Friday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that miscreants spreading rumours should be brought to book and noted that at stake is not just unity and integrity of the country, but also its communal harmony.
A resolution passed in the Rajya Sabha expressed 'serious concern at the feeling of persecution of our brothers and sisters of the Northastern states, who are leaving various cities and returning to the Northeast'.
The Karnataka government continued to reach out to the community urging them to stay on and assured them that it is committed to safeguarding their lives and property in the state. 'We on behalf of the people of Karnataka and the government once again reassure the people of the Northeastern community that they are safe and welcome in Karnataka,' the government said in an advertisement, signed by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and the home minister R Ashoka.
The state government has decided to deploy six companies of the Rapid Action Force in different parts of the city to instil a sense of confidence among the panic-stricken community.
As rumours spread thick and fast, the Andhra Pradesh Police reassured people from the Northeast region of their safety. 'Hyderabad is known for its communal harmony...and I am assuring the Assamese people of their safety and they should not panic by rumours. For the past two days, we are reviewing the situation. No attacks [on Assamese] happened in Hyderabad,' the state director general of police V Dinesh Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad on Friday.
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