Assam flood situation worsens, over 11 lakh people suffering
Guwahati (PTI): The flood situation in Assam deteriorated drastically on Tuesday with three more people losing their lives and more than 11.3 lakh people reeling under the deluge across 23 districts, an official bulletin said.
According to the daily flood bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person each died at Sadiya and Doomdooma revenue circles of Tinsukia district, while one person drowned at Jonai in Dhemaji district.
With this, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood, landslides and storms increased to 48.
The report said more than 11,34,400 people were hit due to the floods in Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts.
Lakhimpur is the worst hit with over 1.65 lakh people suffering, followed by Darrang with more than 1.47 lakh people affected and Golaghat with almost 1.07 lakh people reeling under flood waters.
Till Monday, over 6.44 lakh people were suffering across 18 districts of the state.
The administration has been operating 489 relief camps and relief distribution centres in 21 districts, where 2,86,776 people have taken shelter.
Nearly 2,850 people have been rescued by civil administration, SDRF, NDRF, Emergency Services and Air Force from various parts of the state, the ASDMA said.
The authority has distributed 10,754.98 quintals of rice, 1,958.89 quintals of dal, 554.91 quintals of salt and 23,061.44 litres of mustard oil among the flood victims during the last 24 hours.
At present, 2,208 villages are under water and 42,476.18 hectare of cropland have been damaged, the ASDMA said.
Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in several districts.
At present, the mighty Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger marks at Nimatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati and Dhubri.
Its tributaries Subansiri was flowing above the danger mark at Badatighat, Burhidihing at Chenimari, Dikhou at Sivasagar, Disang at Nanglamuraghat, Dhansiri at Numaligarh, Jia Bharali at Nt Road Crossing, Puthimari at NH Road Crossing, Kopili at Kampur and Beki at Road Bridge.
The Barak river was flowing above the danger mark at BP Ghat, while its tributaries Kushiyara at Karimganj town and Dhaleswari at Gharmura were also flowing above the red mark, the ASDMA said.
On account of widespread flooding, over 8,32,000 domestic animals and poultry have been affected across the state.
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Did Muslim vandalize railway station because train horn disturbed namaz? Viral video fact-checked
A video showing a mob vandalizing a railway station in West Bengal has been widely shared on social media with the claim that the group became violent because a train horn disturbed their prayers. However, upon investigation, it was revealed that the video actually dates back to the 2019 anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests.
Viral Claim
One of the captions of the viral video stated, "Mahishashur railway station in Murshidabad, Bengal being destroyed. Reason: The sound of the train whistle is disturbing their Namaaz. We can see the future of India. #BengalModel." Another similar video, which shows people removing train tracks, is circulating with the same misleading claim.
Investigation
The investigation into these claims involved several steps:
1. Identifying the Location:
- In the 1:49 minute-long video, the location's name 'Naopara Mahishasur' is visible on a wall. This station is located in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
2. Verifying the Date and Context:
- Using the InVID Google Chrome extension, the video was fragmented into multiple keyframes and subjected to a reverse image search. This led to a Facebook post from 2019, which featured similar videos from different angles, indicating that the videos were from the 2019 anti-CAA protests.
- The 2019 Facebook post included multiple videos showing vandalism at Naopara Mahishasur railway station and attributed the violence to the anti-CAB protests.
3. Cross-Referencing Visuals:
- Comparing the 2019 video with the viral one revealed the same individuals, including a man in a blue shirt, vandalizing the railway station.
4. Additional Sources:
- A YouTube video dated December 14, 2019, titled 'Protest procession against CAB and NRC at Naopara Mahishasur station in Sagardighi' corroborated the events.
- A keyword search using 'Naopara Mahishasura railway station anti-CAA protest' in Bengali led to an article from Bartaman Patrika dated December 15, 2019. The article detailed protests against the citizenship issue at Nimatita station, Poradanga station, and Naopara Mahishasur station, confirming the morning vandalism linked to anti-CAA protests.
Conclusion
The viral claim that the mob vandalized the railway station due to the disturbance caused by a train horn during prayers is false. The videos actually depict the 2019 anti-CAA protests at Naopara Mahishasur railway station in Murshidabad district, West Bengal. This fact-check confirms that the current claims circulating on social media are misleading, as the context and timing of the events have been misrepresented.
