RailEnquiry

Rumours and calls from worried families back home prompted the return of hundreds of students from the Northeast to their hometowns. It also had Prime Minister Manmohan Singh call up Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar to enquire about the situation here. Following the rumours, nearly 3,000 people from the Northeast left the city on Wednesday afternoon. The Bangalore Division of South Western Railway (SWR) operated two special trains to Guwahati from Bangalore on Wednesday night. Divisional Railway Manager Agarwal told Express that while the first special train left Bangalore at 11 pm, the second train left  at 11:30 pm. Shettar told Express that he briefed the Prime Minister about the security measures taken by the State government and protection accorded to people from Northeast working and studying here. “I told Dr Singh that there is no reason for people of the Northeast to panic since adequate security arrangements have been made. I also assured the PM that people from Northeast are quite safe in Karnataka.” The Chief Minister said some people were spreading rumours due to which those from the Northeast were leaving Bangalore. “I have called a meeting of all N-E associations on Thursday to explain to them about safety measures taken by the government,” Shettar said.  As many as 6,000 tickets were sold across the counters on Wednesday alone. This forced the Railways to operate two special trains to Guwahati.