Title - Exodus of people from northeast continues from Bangalore

Bangalore: The exodus of people from northeast, including hundreds of students, from Bangalore continued Friday even as police arrested three youths for allegedly assaulting three Manipuri workers at a shopping mall here.  "As over 8,000 unreserved tickets were sold throughout the day... we have arranged three special trains from Bangalore to Guwahati to clear the extraordinary rush of passengers to northeast. One train left at 4 p.m. and another at 8 p.m. One more will depart at 10 p.m.," South Western Railway (SWR) spokesman Syed Imtiaz Ahmed told IANS.The special trains are in addition to the regular express trains to Guwahati and Howrah, which leave Bangalore late in the night.The sudden exodus, majority of them students, workers, security guards and those employed in the hospitality sector, caught the authorities off-guard, as renewed efforts by the state government to desist them from leaving Bangalore had no effect."An estimated 16,000 people from northeast have left Bangalore during the last three days despite our appeals to stay back with assurances to ensure their safety and security," Deputy Chief Minister R. Ashoka, who holds the home portfolio, admitted to reporters here.