Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa assured safety to the people from the northeast living and working here.
In a statement, Jayalalithaa said: “Tamil Nadu has always been peaceful and my government will ensure that people from all parts of India living in Tamil Nadu do not face any difficulty.”
Southern Railway authorities here are monitoring a sudden surge of people from northeastern states like Assam and Manipur, among others, at railway stations, who are wanting to return home.
“We are attaching additional coaches to trains that pass through Chennai to Assam. Ee are not planning any special train(s) out of Chennai, but based on the situation, a decision would be taken,” a railway official official told IANS.
“We did not attach any additional coach to the third special train that passed through Chennai,” the official said.
The Egmore Railway Station here Thursday saw a sudden influx of people from Assam and Manipur. Most of them are working in hotels and as security guards at offices or apartment blocks.
According to railway officials, a total of five additional coaches were attached to two special trains from Bangalore that passed through Chennai Friday and the rush has been cleared.
Around 2,000 people have left in those additional coaches for Assam.
Around 700 tickets have been sold for Howrah and beyond on regular trains like Coromandel Express Friday, which is relatively on the high side.
“We are not sure whether the people leaving are from Chennai or coming from Bangalore to board trains here,” the railway official added.
“Yesterday (Thursday) security guards in our office who are from the northeast were missing in the evening. Though my family members in Manipur are anxious about my safety, I feel safe,” Dilbir Soram, an engineer in an American company, told IANS.
“We feel safe here. There have been no reports of any untoward incidents against people from our region. My parents are anxious about our safety,” a student from Manipur studying in an engineering college here told IANS.