RailEnquiry

GUWAHATI: More than 7,000 people arrived here on Monday from other states by special and weekly trains as the panic fleeing of northeast natives from cities like Bangalore, Hyderababad, Mumbai, Pune etc entered its sixth day.Although the exodus is almost set to enter its first week and thousands have already arrived in the region, the number of people fleeing their work places in other states doesn't seem to be decreasing. On Monday, four special trains and two weekly scheduled trains carrying NE people arrived in Guwahati. Four more special trains were sent off from Guwahati to Bangalore and Howrah to ferry back other NE people who are camping at various stations in the southern states and are desperate to head back home. These trains carried a handful of passengers as most NE people are preferring to stay on home ground during this time of crisis and uncertainty."It was assumed that the flow of people would be reduced by the sixth day but what we saw on Monday was completely the reverse. More than 7,000 people arrived here after fleeing their respective cities of work because of reported threats and rumours through SMSes warning them leave these cities before August 20 or face dire consequences. The number of people arriving on Monday could actually be even more as some sources said it could be close to 8,000," said an official working with the city administration's helpdesk.On Monday morning, the first SBC special train from arrived at around 6.15am. Just before noon, the second SBC special arrived and by afternoon the third SBC and another special from Howrah arrived in the city. At around 7.40am the weekly Bangalore-Guwahati Express also arrived. Meanwhile, one Guwahati-Howrah special, two Guwahati-Bangalore specials and one Kamakhya-Bangalore special also left for their respective destinations to ferry back those who are camping at various stations across south India.

"We came back as soon as possible to escape the August 20 deadline. Our lives are more important than our jobs. We will wait and see whether the situation improves for us to return to our places of work," said T Doley, a passenger.