Chaos on Ballari Road as 6,000 migrants wait for Odisha-bound train with 1,600 seats

BENGALURU: Chaos prevailed outside the Tripura Vasini gate of Palace Grounds on Saturday after more than 6,000 migrant workers, including women and children — mainly from Odisha — gathered to board a Shramik Special train to Puri with a seating capacity of only 1,600.
Many arrived as early as 2am hoping to complete the paperwork in time. Police personnel struggled to control the migrants, who queued up for hours without food or water.
Many Odisha natives who thronged Ballari Road had received an SMS on Friday night reading: ‘One train going from Bengaluru to Puri.You are requested to come to gate number 2 of Palace Grounds on Saturday at 9am.’
Vivekandand Rao, from Balangir, said: “I received the text at 8.30pm on Friday. I was waiting for it as I had registered online to leave a few weeks ago. I packed my bags and reached Palace Grounds at 8am on Saturday and was stunned to see hundreds already waiting there,” said Rao, a construction worker who had already vacated his rented room.
By 2pm, the situation turned uncontrollable with many migrants pressing against the Tripura Vasini gate demanding police let them in. Many, including senior citizens, women and children, were seen clinging to their heavy bags under the scorching sun. “We cant leave the line or else we will be pushed to the end,” said Dilip Kumar, who was in accompanied by his wife Janibhai and daughter Palki.
As the number of migrants started to swell, authorities used the public addressing system to control the desperate crowd. Volunteer Prasanth Patnayak tried to convince the migrants in Odiya but the crowd remained restless.
Forwards, gate change spark more confusion
Police personnel on the ground said some persons who had received the SMS had possibly forwarded it to other Odisha migrants, which resulting in the mass gathering. “I lost my job as a cook at an eatery in Koramangala and have been struggling for more than 50 days without food. This is my last chance to go back home to my loved ones,” said Sanjai Das from Puri.
Confusion prevailed among police personnel too. On-duty personnel changed the gate for migrant entry from 2 to 7 after hundreds had waited for hours. Some like Mohammed Fayez who came to the spot as early as 3am was forced to the tailend of the queue due to the changes. “We are being treated worse than animals. We are forced to wait here for hours with no official addressing our concerns,” rued Fayez.
SWR operates additional train after request
While SWR scheduled only one train to Odisha on Saturday, it later decided to operate two trains. Sources said Karnataka chief secretary requested an additional train be operated considering the demand from Odisha-bound passengers. While 1,600 passengers boarded the first train to Odisha, which rolled out from KSR Bengaluru railway station at 6.25pm, the second train was scheduled to depart at 11.45pm.