Removing encroachments on Dal Lake passed off as demolition of Rohingya houses in Jammu
A video of authorities demolishing houses is going viral. Users claim that the officials are demolishing the illegal colonies of Rohingyas in Jammu and Kashmir. This video has been shared across the platforms with the same claim in several languages including Hindi and Telugu.
By Satya Priya BN Published on 12 Jun 2021 4:55 AM GMT
A video of authorities demolishing houses is going viral. Users claim that the officials are demolishing the illegal colonies of Rohingyas in Jammu and Kashmir.
This video has been shared across the platforms with the same claim in several languages including Hindi and Telugu.
Archive links:
https://web.archive.org/save/
https://web.archive.org/save/
Fact Check:
The claim that the video shows the demolition of illegal colonies of Rohingyas in Jammu and Kashmir is MISLEADING.
When observed carefully, we can see that the video has the logo of 'Jammu links news', so we searched for the portal, Jammu links news. The news portal published the news on April 1, 2021, which states Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) carried out an anti-encroachment drive here. The drive was carried out in the Canal Road area. Illegal structures raised on the state land were demolished by the JMC. However, some resistance was expressed by the shopkeepers against the drive.
"Entrances of several shops were demolished by the JMC officials which were constructed by encroaching the lanes and drains, which has created hindrance on the movement of the pedestrians viz commuters", a JMC official told media persons.
Similar action should be taken against all encroachers in the time to come, he added. However, a large contingent of police was deployed to control any law and order situation.
The same video has been uploaded by the news portal with a thumbnail: 'In its effort to continuous demolition drives by Lakes and Waterways Development Authority through its Enforcement Wing, several illegal constructions/encroachments were demolished from the last one week under the supervision of Enforcement Officer, in the area of, Lashkari Mohalla, Doji Mohalla, Burzhama, Wangut Teilbal & Nishat, in which one single storey with tin walling, one ground floor, two plinth blocks & two shops raised illegally were demolished on spot.'
The same video has been shared by several other local channels.
According to a report by Zee News, Jammu and Kashmir is known as the crown of India, and Dal Lake is said to be its jewel. But in the past few years, the lake has been shrinking because of encroachments. The Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) has been trying its best to save the lake.
In the last 3 months, LAWDA has demolished 170 illegal structures around the lake. People have been taking advantage of the lockdown and many such encroachments are being reported. To stop these illegal encroachments, LAWDA has started installing CCTV cameras all around the Lake.
According to the officials, during the lockdown, the monitoring becomes slow and so does the reporting of encroachments. This is what some people try to take advantage. Scores of FIRs have also been registered against people for these encroachments. Many vehicles carrying construction materials have also been seized by the officials.
"In 2020, LAWDA had done more than 463 demolitions around the lake. And in the last five years, we have registered 1000 FIRs against people who encroached on the lake and 124 vehicles were seized too,'' says Dr. Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Vice-Chairperson, LAWDA.
Here are some other reports.
https://kashmirobserver.net/
Hence, the demolition of encroachments on Dal Lake carried out by officials is wrongly connected to Rohingyas. The claim that the video shows the demolition of illegal colonies of Rohingyas in Jammu and Kashmir is MISLEADING.
