The second special passenger train from New Delhi carrying 506 passengers arrived at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna City Railway Station on Saturday around 6.40 a.m. Having learned from its past mistake, the government ensured that everyone on board was aware of the mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine.
Ashok Kumar Verma, Division Railway Manager, Bengaluru, said, “All the passengers who boarded the train at Delhi station were fully aware of the quarantine protocols needed to be followed here in the State."
South Western Railways (SWR) had set up 10 receiving booths per coach to screen passengers. Officials from SWR, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), and police personnel were deployed in large numbers to escort passengers to the screening facilities.
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However, while the process went off relatively smoothly on arrival, that was not the case at Ashoknagar in Srinivasa Nagar near Banashankari. Residents gathered in front of Government Medical and Engineering Hostel, Ashoknagar, after news spread that the civic body was planning to quarantine some of the passengers from Delhi at the facility.
They demanded that the hostel not be used as a quarantine centre given that it is in the middle of a residential area.
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BBMP officials refused to comment, and protesters dispersed by evening after no one was brought to the hostel.