Amid heroic tales of Indian armed forces rescuing hundreds in flood-hit Kerala, a fake video has gone viral spreading lies about the Indian Army.
Taking cognizance of the sensitivity of the situation, the army on Sunday issued a stern warning against those spreading ‘disinformation’ about the relief work. In the viral video, a man dressed in combat military uniform, says ‘people must not donate for the flood relief as only rich are affected in Kerala.’
The Indian Army took to Twitter to issue clarification and said that the video was fake and that no solider was involved in this. ‘Imposter wearing Army combat uniform in video spreading disinformation about rescue & relief efforts. Every effort by all & #IndianArmy aimed to overcome this terrifying human tragedy (sic),’ the army tweeted.
The Indian Army has also given a WhatsApp number in case someone recives such a fake news item. ‘Forward disinformation about #IndianArmy on WhatsApp +917290028579. We are at it,’ the tweet by army’s official Twitter handle said.
Meanwhile, in a big relief, there was respite from the rains in most parts of the state today after nearly two weeks of virtually non-stop downpour and the red alert has been lifted in several districts.
President Ram Nath Kovind spoke to Kerala Governor P Sathasivam and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and enquired about the situation and acknowledged the grit and resilience of the people in coming together in this trying hour.
"Assured the people of the state that entire nation was with them," the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.
The deadliest deluge in close to a century has claimed 210 lives since August 8 and over 400 since May 29 when the south west monsoon set in over Kerala. More than 80 dams were opened, leading to floods while the rains also triggered landslides.
High-range Idukki district, Malappuram and Thrissur are among the worst hit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday undertook an aerial survey of monsoon ravaged areas and announced an immediate assistance of Rs 500 crore.
In good news, the rainfall intensity over Kerala has decreased over the past two days, the meteorology department said today, adding there is no alert of heavy precipitation for the next four days in the state.
The number of those displaced in the torrential rains was today put at 7.24 lakh by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who said most of the affected had been rescued and the government's focus would now be their rehabilitation.
Thirteen people lost their lives today and 7,24,649 lakh people were in 5,645 relief camps, he told reporters after a review meeting.
Around 22,000 people were rescued today in the operations launched by the defence personnel, national and state disaster response forces, fishermen and local people.
He was all praise for the efforts put in by personnel of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, NDRF, fishermen and local people in rescuing people.
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