BANGALORE/NEW DELHI, Aug 17 � Driven by rumours of impending attacks, the exodus of people from the northeast spread from Bangalore to neighbouring cities on the third day today, reports PTI.
Notwithstanding assurances of safety by the Centre and the Karnataka government to the people of the northeast, hordes of them living in Mysore, Mangalore and Kodagu made a beeline for the railway ticket counters here to return to their states.
More than 15,000 people have fled in the past two days following the rumours, officials said today.
The Railways had sold 9,718 tickets for the two special trains that headed to Guwahati last night, Divisional Railway Manager, Bangalore, Anil Kumar Agarwal, told PTI this morning.
Officials estimate the number of people from the northeast, including students, residing in Bangalore in the range of 2.5 lakh and 2.75 lakh. In Chennai, over 1,000 people from the NE were reported to have taken trains out of the city.
The exodus issue figured in both Houses of Parliament with members expressing solidarity with the people hailing from the northeast.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said miscreants spreading rumours that have led to people belonging to northeast flee from Bangalore, Pune and other parts of the country, should be brought to book and noted that at stake is not just unity and integrity of the country, but also communal harmony.
A resolution passed in the Rajya Sabha expressed �serious concern at the feeling of persecution of our brothers and sisters of the northastern states, who are leaving various cities and returning to the North East.
