In Tamil Nadu, overcome by panic and fuelled by fear, peoplefrom the North East began leaving Chennai though in much smaller numbercompared to those in Bangalore.
In Karnataka, the exodus spread from Bangalore to some otherparts of the state with those Northeastern people in Mysore, Mangalore andKodagu arriving here in trains and buses and crowding railway counters to buytickets to reach their homes.
Bangalore Divisional Manager Anil Kumar Agarwal told PTIthat about 25,000 people from North East have fled the city in the past threedays, a development triggered by fears of impending retributory attacksfollowing Assam violence.
Railways have sold around 20,000 extra tickets to Guwahatifor six special trains from here to Assam, he said, adding ticket sales went upto 4,000 till 4 PM today and was expected to rise by a few thousand more.
As government went all out to prevail on the community tostay back, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R Ashoka said sixcompanies (about 600) of Rapid Action Force would be deployed in parts of thecity to instill confidence among the people of Northeast.
He said the RAF would stage flag-marches in areas where North-Easternersreside in large numbers.
Ashoka also said government plans a total ban on sendingbulk SMSes and MMSes for 10 days and a notification might be issued anytime.
He said 'definite information' has been received about thosewho have sent the SMSes and they would be arrested soon.
Officials said 16,000 north-easterners have fled the city inthe past two days, and another 2,000 headed home this afternoon in a specialtrain.
In Chennai, hundreds of people from Northeast, some of themarriving from different parts of Tamil Nadu, thronged Egmore Railway stationhere waiting to board Guwahati-bound trains.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa sought to allay fearsof violence against persons of North Eastern states residing in the state, assuringthem that her government would ensure they face no difficulty.
"Tamil Nadu has always been peaceful and my governmentwill ensure that people from all parts of India living in Tamil Nadu do notface any difficulty," she said.
"There is no need for any apprehension... there hasbeen no instances of any violence. They don't need to panic. We see onlyregular movement of people," Police Commissioner J K Tripathy maintained,denying any exodus.
According to official estimates, the number of people fromthe north-east, including students, residing in Bangalore is in the range ofbetween 2.5 lakh and 2.75 lakh.
Continuing to reach out to the community, Karnatakagovernment urged them to stay on and assured it is committed to safeguardingtheir lives and property.
"We on behalf of people of Karnataka and governmentonce again reassure the people of North-Eastern that they are safe and welcomedin Karnataka", the government said in an advertisement signed by ChiefMinister Jagadish Shettar and Ashoka, published in newspapers today.
Strict action would be taken against anyone spreadingrumours, the government said.
"The exodus of Northeast people from the city is notdue to threat factor but due to anxiety to be with their parents at a time whenAssam has been gripped by violence," Law and Parliamentary Minister SSuresh Kumar said.
The State Home Department has ordered surveillance of socialmedia sites to check for people who are distorting facts and circulating falseinformation.
