Coronavirus Lockdown 3.0: First passenger train arrives in Bengaluru after 2 months, people fume at poor planning

A passenger train arrived in Karnataka from New Delhi on Thursday, after a gap of nearly two months, with passengers criticising officials for poor facility and planning.

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At least three passengers said they were not informed about the mandatory institutional quarantine which is forcing them to spend money for a decent stay.

"I wasn't informed of the mandatory institutional quarantine. The train was on its way to Bengaluru when I got a call from a BBMP official informing about the new rule. I have two children at home. I wish the government had allowed home quarantine," said Bhavana Chattopadhyaya, a passenger.

Another passenger, who identified herself as Ms Mishra, said she boarded the train at Bhopal only to find that there was no water in the toilet. "My daughter-in-law has been admitted to hospital. Now my family has to worry about me. The train we came in had no water in toilets," she said.

The train arrived at KSR Bengaluru station at 7.15 am carrying more than 900 passengers.

Passengers were not allowed to exit the coach. Officials said they would go to each coach and inform passengers about the procedure they will have to go through in the next few minutes before being taken outside the station.

In the next two hours, BBMP officials, police and personnel from the Railway Protection Force made the passengers stand in queues at the 10 counters where they were told to choose the hotels in which they wanted to stay. The contact details of each passenger was obtained by officials before they were let out of the station.

The BMTC buses were put on standby at the station exit. As soon as the bus to a particular area was full, the police gave the final clearance. The sense of relief was visible on the faces of passengers, especially those who were stuck at the station till 10 am.