Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Industry and Business News .




DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Assamese flee Bangalore over safety fears
by Staff Writers
Bangalore, India (UPI) Aug 17, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

India's prime minister has called for calm as thousands of people northeastern India but now living in the southern city of Bangalore fear for their safety.

No deaths or violent incidents have been reported but rumors of threats against people from India's remote northeastern states, including Assam, have sent thousands flooding into Bangalore's main train station to buy tickets out of the city.

Southwestern Railway in Bangalore reportedly has been inundated with people buying tickets to Assam and the company put on extra trains to cope with the demand, a report by The Times of India said.

Around 7,000 tickets more than usual have been sold, including more than 2,000 tickets sold Thursday to people traveling to Guwahati, the largest city in Assam.

The situation at the city railway station was chaotic as thousands of people from northeastern India and Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet nationals thronged to get tickets, The Times of India report said.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the "rumor-mongering" and appealed to everyone, including political parties in Bangalore, to show there is no threat of violence against anyone and that peace should be maintained.

"All political parties must work together to give a feeling of confidence to all affected people," he told reporters at his residence in Delhi during an Iftar event -- the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

Singh also said he had spoken to the chief ministers of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Assam states about the need to remain vigilant and maintain communal harmony.

Bangalore, in the southwest state of Karnataka, is India's third largest city with a population of around 8.5 million people, 2011 census data indicated.

The city is home to many of India's major international companies including IT consultancies Infosys and Wipro. It also has been among the fastest growing urban areas, attracting people from every corner of India because of job opportunities.

A report by NDTV said Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune are on guard against aftershocks of the ethnic violence that hit Assam hard in the past month and in which nearly 80 people died.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered surveillance of Web sites and social networking sites to identify people misreporting facts and urging people to instigate violence, NDTV said.

Families in Assam also have been urging relatives back to the state, a Press Trust of India and Times News Network report said.

"We got calls from our families in Assam that there is violence against northeast residents in Bangalore and south India," said a native of Assam.

"Although we are afraid of going home because the situation over there is equally worse, but we would be assured if we are amid our people. We definitely feel insecure in these states."

A 2001 census showed Bangalore was nearly 80 percent Hindu by religion. Muslims made up just less than 14 percent, Christians nearly 6 percent and Jains and others around 2 percent.

In Assam, around 65 percent of the population is Hindu and around 31 percent is Muslim. Christians and other groups make up the rest.

The recent ethnic clashes in Assam have been between the Bodo peoples -- the vast majority claim to be Hindu -- and Muslims.

In his address to the nation on Independence Day this week, Singh said the government was doing "everything possible" to provide relief to the people affected by the violence, NDTV reported.

"The incidents of violence which occurred in Assam recently are very unfortunate," Singh said.

"I know that these incidents have resulted in the disruption of the lives of a large number of people. We fully sympathize with those families which have been affected by the violence."

He said the central government in New Delhi would work with the state governments to ensure ethnic violence doesn't happen in other parts of the country.

Around 200,000 people are displaced because of ethnic violence and fears over safety, most living in relief camps, NDTV said.

Singh also said there has been a reduction in violence in the north eastern states.

"We are engaged in dialogue with many groups there so that they can join the mainstream of development," he said.

Talks are ongoing with major insurgent groups including the Nationalist Socialist Council Nagaland, the United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.

.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Deaths from landslides up to 10 times worse than thought
Paris (AFP) Aug 16, 2012
The death toll from landslides is 10 times higher than generally estimated, with most fatalities occurring in South Asia, China and Latin America, according to a British study published on Thursday. In the seven years between 2004 and 2010, 2,620 fatal landslides occurred around the world, causing 32,322 deaths, researchers at Durham University, northeastern England said, adding that the fig ... read more


DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Micro-thruster could move small satellites

World's most powerful X-ray laser beam refined to scalpel precision

Apple stock hits new high on gadget rumors

Russia: Wayward rocket no threat to ISS

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Raytheon unveils cross domain strategy to securely access information via mobile devices

NATO Special Forces Taps Mutualink for Global Cross Coalition Communications

Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Integrated Receiver Circuit Under DARPA Program

Boeing Receives 10th WGS Satellite Order from USAF

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Pre launch verifications are underway for next Soyuz mission

GSAT-10 "spreads its wings" in preparation for Arianespace's next Ariane 5 launch

The Spaceport moves into action for Arianespace's next Soyuz mission to orbit two Galileo satellites

Sea Launch Prepares for the Launch of Intelsat 21

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
A GPS in Your DNA

Next Galileo satellite reaches French Guiana launch site

Raytheon completes GPS OCX iteration 1.4 Critical Design Review

Mission accomplished, GIOVE-B heads into deserved retirement

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Taiwan denies it still seeks F-16C-D jets

Boeing Flies X-48C Blended Wing Body Research Aircraft

Embraer, Cobham ink KC-390 tanker deal

Hong Kong Airlines considering cancelling A380 order

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
IBM buys flash memory firm

NIST's speedy ions could add zip to quantum computers

NASA Goddard Team to Demonstrate Miniaturized Spectrometer-on-a-Chip

Dutch firm ASML clinches 1.1 bn euro deal with Taiwan's TSMC

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Proba-1 microsat snaps Olympic neighbourhood

Sparse microwave imaging: A new concept in microwave imaging technology

NASA Finalizes Contracts for NOAA's JPSS-1 Mission

MSG-3, Europe's latest weather satellite, delivers first image

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Italians protest against pollution from steelworks

Vietnam, US begin historic Agent Orange cleanup

Worldwide increase of air pollution

Philippine gold mine suspended over spill




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement