Mass exodus
Thousands of migrant workers and students from the north-east are fleeing the southern cities now, particularly Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. For the past few days, there have been stampedes at railway stations crammed with multitudes of people desperately waiting for a number of specially scheduled trains to take them back to Guwahati. Every such train that arrives at Bangalore railway station precipitates a virtual stampede, with thousands of panic-stricken passengers, with or without tickets, pushing into overcrowded compartments. Railway platforms have become veritable makeshift camps, with stranded passengers anxiously waiting to board the next train, uncertain about the possibility of making it in time. To ameliorate the situation, the railway authorities have arranged for additional services but these are nowhere near commensurate with the sudden and tremendous upsurge in demand. Yesterday, there were 7,500 ticketed passengers boarding four Guwahati-bound trains in