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  Indian Railways News  / Northeast exodus: Police hold night patrols in Bangalore

Bangalore: Night patrols were on across several areas in Bangalore, where there is a strong presence of the Northeast Indians. Six people were arrested on Friday for spreading rumours and false SMSes. In fact, two ministers from Assam visited the railway stations, asking people to not panic and flee. But despite assurances, there were reports that apart from Hyderabad and Pune, Indians from the Northeast are also leaving Chennai, Coimbatore and Vadodara. Meanwhile, the Centre has issued directions to all Internet service providers to disable any hateful content targetting them. Bulk SMSes and MMSes have also been banned for 15 days to contain panic. Meanwhile, two of the special trains to leave Bangalore with Indians from the Northeast have reached Guwahati. The special trains left the city on Wednesday night after panic spread among people. A special train from Hyderabad has also reached Guwahahti. More trains are expected on Saturday.

  Indian Railways News  / Healing touch for fleeing north east natives

New Jalpaiguri/HOWRAH: Some 6,000 panic-stricken northeast natives passed through Howrah station on Friday, but there was no one waiting to show solidarity here, unlike the placard-bearing RSS workers and Muslims in Bangalore, where the trains originated.

But when the two trains reached New Jalpaiguri at night, there were volunteers to hand out water and food to the fleeing migrants.

In a heartbreaking case of mass panic, thousands gave up whatever they had in Bangalore and packed into two trains on Independence Day to rush for home. Men slept on the floors, allowing the women and children to use the berths. Some spent the last 48 hours crushed against the walls near the toilets. The fear was so intense that very few dared get down at the stations for water or food until they reached Howrah and NJP.

"The train left without any food or water," said Rajiv Pegu of Assam's Dhemaji district.

Such an exodus has probably never been seen since Partition.

At Howrah station, they were reluctant to speak about their fears but at NJP, they opened up a bit more, possibly emboldened by the fact that they are that much closer home.

Tapan Bhattarai of Udalguri, Assam, said that the panic first struck on the night of August 13 when they saw a vehicle carrying a corpse. Then, rumours of attacks being planned against northeast natives terrified them.

"My family and friends asked me to return to Guwahati immediately. I shall not go back to Bangalore till the situation improves even if it means giving up the course," said Raj Payeng, a 20-year-old Guwahati resident who has left his hardware engineering course midway. He was accompanied by classmate Jyoti, also a resident of Guwahati. Another student, Suraj, said he was not sure when he could go back and resume his studies in Bangalore.

Many of them quit their jobs in the rumour-fuelled panic. "I have been working with a security agency in Bangalore since 2009 and lived in Electronic City. There was no problem till now. Suddenly, things got really bad and I started fearing for my life," said 22-year-old Udit Nath, a resident of Barpeta.

Dhuruba Deka, 40, another resident of Electronic City, was leaving with his family. "I have lived in Bangalore since 2001, but now it is better to leave the city. There are a lot of rumours going around. I can't take a risk with my family," said Deka, a Malegaon native.

"We assembled at Bangalore station on Wednesday and are waiting anxiously for the train to enter Assam," said Mitinga Brahma of Kokrajhar as Rangila Najoria of Jorhat nodded. They work in production units in Bangalore.

The Railway Board has directed that the trains should not be detained anywhere, said an official.

There was tight security at NJP to prevent any untoward incident. Security has been beefed up along the railway tracks in North Bengal and Assam, say sources. The rail connection to the northeast was cut off for some time after the clashes.

"Our duty is to ensure that the people reach their destinations without any harassment. The state governments must take steps to control the situation. We don't want services to be disrupted again," a Northeast Frontier Railway official said.

Taser Ali Heckpal of Karnataka, used to work as security guard, "There was some rumour that they would be attacked. Thus we left the place," he said.

  Indian Railways News  / Chennai-Mangalore Onam special trains

Southern Railways will run special trains for Onam festival season.A press release by the Palakkad division of Southern Railways said here that train no. 06001 Chennai Central-Mangalore Central superfast special will leave Chennai Central at 8.45 pm on August 25 and reach Mangalore Central at 1.05 pm the next day.Train no. 06002 Mangalore Central-Chennai Central special will leave Mangalore Central at 7.20 pm on August 26 and reach Chennai Central at 12.45 pm the next day.The trains will stop at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Gudiyattam, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Jolarpettai, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Shoranur, Kuttipuram, Tirur, Kozhikode, Vadakara, Thalassery, Kannur, Payyanur, Kanhangad and Kasaragod. Train no. 06002 will stop at Perambur also, it said.The trains will have one AC 2-tier, three AC 3-tier, 11 sleeper class, three general second class and two luggage-cum-brake van coaches.The release said that train no. 06304 Nagercoil-Mangalore Junction special will leave Nagercoil at 9.05 pm on August 29 and reach Mangalore Junction at 12.30 pm the next day. Train no. 06303 Mangalore Junction-Nagercoil special will leave Mangalore Junction at 1.45 pm on August 30 and reach Nagercoil at 4.45 am the next day.

The trains will stop at Eraniel, Kulitturai, Neyyatinkara, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kayankulam, Chengannur, Tiruvalla, Kottayam, Ernakulam town, Aluva, Thrisur, Shoranur, Kuttipuram, Tirur, Kozhikkode, Vadakara, Thalassery, Kannur, Payyanur, Kanhangad and Kasaragod. The trains will have one AC 2-tier, two AC 3-tier, seven sleeper class, six general second class and two luggage-cum-brake van coaches.

It said that advance reservation for the above trains will commence on August 19.

  Indian Railways News  / SCR To Intensify Patrolling

The South Central Railway, with rise in the number of fire accidents in the Vijayawada division, has decided to intensify patrolling on trains and in stations to prevent carrying/transportation of inflammable material.

Similarly, the government has enhanced the ex gratia amount from Rs. 500 to Rs. 5,000 for simple injuries, from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 25,000 for grievously injured passengers, and Rs.50,000 to the bereaved families in case of deaths in accidents.

The increased ex gratia amount was being given from August 1, said Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager Pradeep Kumar at a press conference here on Friday.

Keeping in view the safety of passengers, special drives were launched in all stations. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) was asked to conduct checks in trains and surprise checks on platforms.

The SLRs and parcel vans were being checked to prevent transportation of dangerous goods and security had been beefed up at the entry points in major stations.

Besides, intensive track patrolling and review meetings on safety were being conducted every Monday, said Mr. Pradeep Kumar.

The SCR paid ex gratia amount to all the victims of the Tamil Nadu Express fire accident which occurred in Nellore on July 30.

Ex gratia amount was also paid to 13 passengers who suffered injuries in Tiruvananthapuram-Guwahati Express train accident that occurred at Eluru recently, said the DRM.

CCTVs proposed

Additional DRM S. Subba Rao, who was also present at the press conference, said that Closed Circuit Televisions (CCTVs) were proposed at Tadepalligudem, Chirala, and Eluru railway stations. Such CCTVs were functional in Vijayawada, Bhimavaram, Ongole, and Nellore stations, said Mr. Rao.

Mr. Pradeep Kumar said that Vijayawada division registered gross earnings of Rs. 841 crore (from April to June) as against Rs.702 crore for the same period last year.

  Indian Railways News  / आम्रपाली एक्सप्रेस में टीटीई ने यात्री को पीटा

कटिहार से अमृतसर तक जाने वाली 15707 अप आम्रपाली एक्सप्रेस के एसी बोगी बी वन में बीती रात सेमापुर व नौगछिया स्टेशनों के बीच आइडी पू्रफ्र को लेकर शुरू हुई बहा मारपीट में बदल गई। इस क्रम में टीटीई ने यात्री यूपी निवासी डॉ. अजय की पिटाई कर दी। इससे यात्री जख्मी हो गए। टीटीई ने यात्री की आइडी पू्रफ्र छिनकर 1300 रुपये जुर्माना लेकर रसीद भी नहीं दी। पीड़ित यात्री डॉ. अजय ने बताया कि 15707 आम्रपाली एक्सप्रेस से वे कटिहार से हाजीपुर जा रहे थे। एसी बोगी बी वन में उनका कंफर्म बर्थ 48, 56 था। सेमापुर स्टेशन के पास टीटीई ने टिकट के साथ आइडी पू्रफ्र की मांग की। उन्हें दोनों दिया गया। इस पर टीटीई ने आइडी पू्रफ्र में डॉ. अजय रहने और चार्ट पर सिर्फ अजय होने का सवाल उठाया। इसके बाद टीटीई उन्हें सीट से उठा दिया। वह मेरे आइडी पू्रफ्र को भी रख लिया। पीड़ित अजय ने कहा कि मुजफ्फरपुर जंक्शन पर ट्रेन से उतरने के बाद जीआरपी में टीटीई के खिलाफ शिकायत करने गये लेकिन वहां शिकायत का आवेदन नहीं लिया गया। जंक्शन की शिकायत पुस्तिका में शिकायत दर्ज कर दी गई है। सोनपुर मंडल के सीनियर वाणिज्य प्रबंधक बीएनपी वर्मा ने बताया कि टीटीई वीपी सिंह द्वारा यात्री के साथ मारपीट व जुर्माना लेकर रसीद नहीं देने की शिकायत मिली है। इसकी जांच के आदेश दिए गए हैं।