RailEnquiry

VADODARA: What began as a trickle on Friday afternoon turned into a virtual exodus by persons from Assam late on Friday as Okha-Guwahati Express left Vadodara railway station. At least 500 people are believed to have left from Vadodara and south Gujarat on the train.The train is the only one connecting the city directly to Guwahati and leaves only once a week on Friday. Vadodara is the only station in south and central Gujarat where the train can be boarded. A majority of those on board were from Silvassa, Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Daman.With the number of passengers far exceeding capacity, those wishing to board were even allowed inside reserved sleeper class coaches. Requests for extra coaches on the train could not be fulfilled as the train already had the maximum number of coaches allowed attached to it.Sonu Dasyu, who was waiting to board, said while there was no fear or rumour mongering, he was leaving as family members in Assam were calling him. He said they were worried after hearing about the situation in other states.Kiran Dasyu, who was accompanying Sonu, said since all members of the group with whom he stayed were leaving, he too decided to do so. "Otherwise, we are facing no problems here," he said.Vadodara BJP MP Balkrishna Shukla, BJP city unit president Bharat Dangar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers were also at the railway station. Passengers were given food packets and water bottles as they boarded. Shukla said he had asked the railways to beef up security on the train to prevent any untoward incident.

The administration has also swung into action. City police commissioner Satish Sharma made an appeal to all residents of the north eastern states of the country to call the city police control room if they hear any rumours. He said their security was the police's responsibility and that they would face no problems in the city.