No, BJP ministers, MPs did not give Rs 25 crore cheque toward Kerala floods
“BJP ministers and MPs donate for Kerala, don’t say that you have not received anything (translated),” reads a post shared by one Sreekumar Sreedharannair on Facebook. The caption is accompanied with an image of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accepting a Rs 25 crore cheque. He is surrounded by several people, including BJP MP V. Muraleedharan and Alphons Kannanthanam, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism. The post has been shared over 10,000 times.
A few individual users on social media have also circulated the image with the identical narrative of BJP ministers donating money to CM Vijayan toward Kerala flood relief.
Money donated by oil companies
The Rs 25 crore cheque was not donated by BJP ministers, but central petroleum public sector companies on August 21. Since the cheque was presented to the Kerala CM by BJP MPs, they have been photographed together. This has assisted the narrative floating on social media that it is BJP MPs who have donated this sum to the flood-ravaged state.
BJP MP Muraleedharan had tweeted that he “handed over the cheque on behalf of oil marketing companies.” The same was also tweeted by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.
Sh. @alphonstourism Hon. MoS Tourism (I/C), handed over contribution cheque of Rs. 25 crore from Oil Marketing Companies in Kerala for Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund to Sh. @vijayanpinarayi @CMOKerala#KeralaFloodRelief #KeralaWeAreWithYou@dpradhanbjp @PetroleumMin pic.twitter.com/lU0IhzCZB5
— Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (@HPCL) August 21, 2018
With Kerala reeling under devastating floods, a lot of misinformation related to relief work is circulating on social media, including a hoard of images and videos, often with the objective of political one-upmanship. It would be prudent to cross-check claims on social media with mainstream media reports.
courtesy : altnews.in
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SC to hear plea on air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR on Dec 17
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said it will list for hearing on December 17 a plea related to worsening air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pamcholi took note of the submissions of senior advocate Aprajita Singh, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, that though the preventive measures are there in place but the key issue was of their poor implementation by the authorities.
Singh said till this court directs something, the authorities do not comply with the protocols which are already there.
“This is coming up before a three judges bench on Wednesday. It will come up,” the CJI said.
Another lawyer referred to an application relating to the health issue of children, and said schools, despite the earlier orders, are holding outdoor sports activities.
“Despite the order of this court, Schools have found ways and means to have these sporting activities.. it is taking place. The CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) is again citing the order of this court,” the amicus also said.
“We know the problem and let us pass orders which can be complied with. There are some directions which can be forcibly imposed. In these urban metropolitan cities people have their own lifestyle. But the poor…,” the CJI said.
The amicus said the poor labourers are the worst ones to suffer.
Earlier the bench had said the plea against air pollution cannot be treated as a "customary" case to be listed only during the winter months only.
It had said the case will be taken twice in a month to find out short and long-term solutions to the menace.
Delhi on Monday choked under a thick blanket of smog, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 498, which falls in the higher spectrum of 'severe' category.
The air quality was 'severe' at 38 stations while it was 'very poor' at two stations. Jahangirpuri, which recorded an AQI of 498, recorded the worst air quality amongst all 40 stations.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
The AQI in Delhi had climbed to 461 on Sunday and marked the city's most polluted day this winter and the second-worst December air quality day on record, as weak winds and low temperatures trapped pollutants close to the surface.
