Karnataka police launch fact-check website to bust fake news

Coronavirus

The platform has listed a bunch of fake news which recently went viral and refuted them with detailed explanations.

IANS

Karnataka Police on Thursday launched a dedicated fake news busting website, the state police chief announced. "Launching now: Karnataka State Police FactCheck - Don't fall for fake news, factcheck.ksp.gov.in," tweeted Director General of Police Praveen Sood. Launching now: Karnataka State Police FactCheck – Don't fall for fake news https://t.co/MX9p17uehe — DGP KARNATAKA (@DgpKarnataka) April 9, 2020 The verifying platform has listed a bunch of fake news which recently gone viral, and refuted them with detailed explanations. Calling out a fake video circulating on social media which claimed that Muslims were purposefully sneezing in the Hazrat Nizamuddin area in Delhi to spread coronavirus, Karnataka police said the video is a malicious message. "Below post has been found as circulating on social media. It's a ritual in Sufism and the mosque is not Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah," explained the police about the video.The platform presented the video as a suspicious message or content and followed it up with the verification. Police flagged the fake video for its false captions and suspicious nature. Vishwanath, a social media user thanked police for bringing out the truth and busting fake news. "Thank you very much because we are blindly believing what we receive on social media," he said in the comment box on Thursday evening. Farhana Banu, another user said: "Dear Sir/Madam, thank you so much for clarifying that these videos are fake. Being Muslims we are mentally disturbed by seeing the blacklash by our friends online." Tazim Rawat, another social media enthusiast said the clarifications are a big relief as it is becoming very difficult to answer people. Similarly, other fake news making tall claims and misleading the masses which police have now busted included: 'Global Corona patient zero had sex with bats', 'Muslims licking utensils to spread Coronavirus', 'PM announced all India lockdown increased till May 4th' and 'Hanta virus is a new virus that spreads human to human'. Karnataka police shared at least nine fake news items to show they were false. The police have invited public-spirited individuals to submit fake news for verification, asking details such as where he or she saw the fake news, website or app, and gave an option to submit audios, videos and images up to a size of 2 megabytes.  "Karnataka State Police has taken this initiative in collaboration with Check4Spam to counter rumours amid the Coronavirus outbreak. The citizens can utilize this portal to verify any suspected news and also upload the content for its verification and clarification," said the platform. The state government is also attempting to bust fake news through its Telegram group run by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR). Over 22,000 members in the group can put forward queries including news or rumours they have heard and a team of 30 volunteers working out of a control room in Bengaluru are fact-checking them. The state government also runs two websites - https://ift.tt/2JQFYFF - and  https://ift.tt/2xZX2q6 dedicated to COVID-19 related updates.

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Now, a disinfection tunnel sprays an organic fumigant in Karnataka

Coronavirus

The spray is not made of Sodium Hypochlorite, which has been used elsewhere in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Prajwal Bhat

Several 'disinfection tunnels' have been set up across south India since the first one came up in Tiruppur district of Tamil Nadu.  But in Karnataka's Chikkaballapura district, the makers of the disinfection tunnel decided to use an organic fumigant instead of Sodium Hypochlorite, which have been used elsewhere.  "Instead of sodium hypochlorite, we decided to use a solution made of fruit extracts and glycerine," says Karthik Narayanan, who works with the NGO Sugaradhana.  The solution called CitroBioShield is being sprayed in the tunnel set up on the main road in Gowribidanur town that connects to the wholesale market. The decision to build a tunnel was taken after a cluster of COVID-19 cases cropped up in Chikkaballapura district. The district has reported 8 cases so far and also shares a border with neighboring Andhra Pradesh state. This prompted Varaprasad Reddy, the nodal officer for COVID-19 cases in the district, to devise a 'disinfection tunnel' in the town.  "We designed the frame of 20 feet length and we asked people to make it here. We used polythene sheets to complete the tunnel," says Varaprasad Reddy. But instead of using Sodium Hypochlorite solution, the officer was delighted when Karthik decided to offer an organic alternative free of cost to the district administration. Tunnels which spray Sodium Hypochlorite have been set up in Mysuru, Tirupur in Tamil Nadu and Thrissur in Kerala. But it has been criticised by public health experts who questioned about the side-effects of inhaling the solution and about the concentration of the chemical used. Reports indicate that concentration levels are not uniform and can differ from anywhere between 0.2% and 1%. Read: Disinfectant tunnels installed in more places, but are they safe? Experts raise doubts Karthik says that an organic solution will solve the issues that come with using a chemical disinfectant. "This solution (CitroBioShield) has been tested by laboratories and is used at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) and Brains Hospital in the operating theatres for fumigation purposes. There will be no side effects if people are sprayed by this or if they inhale it," Karthik claims. With more disinfection tunnels coming up in Karnataka and other states, Karthik says that organic sprays should be favored over chemical products.  This has also received support from Karnataka Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, who visited Chikkaballapura on Tuesday. "An organic disinfectant tunnel has been set up in Chikkaballapura, which is perhaps one of its kind in the entire country," he told reporters.  According to the makers of the tunnel, it will be replicated in Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh, which shares a border with Chikkaballapura. In addition, the Mysuru district administration has also expressed an interest  to use the organic solution in the disinfection tunnel set up in the city.  However, Anant Bhan, a global health researcher told TNM, "On face value, It might be less harmful if it is organic because bleach can be harmful to skin. But given that we are dealing with a respiratory pathogen, how will disinfection help stop the spread of the virus? We have to study if it (organic fumigant) is specifically useful for disinfection or whether it gives a false sense of protection." 

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How direct arrangements with farmers is helping both buyers and sellers in Bengaluru

Coronavirus

With gaps in the supply chain and markets closed down, much of farmers’ produce is getting wasted – but some people are trying to change that.

Soumya Chatterjee

With the lockdown severely affecting the regular supply chain of fruits and vegetables in Bengaluru, some residential communities and farmers are faring better than others. This is due to farm-to-door arrangements that some volunteers have worked out.  There were multiple incidents of farmers leaving their crop to rot in the open or feeding their crop to cattle, as they could not arrange transport to ferry their produce. Even if the farmers managed to arrange transport for the produce, strict enforcement of social distancing measures resulted in shutting down of many big traditional markets like KR Market, Russel Market etc. This meant that there was an ‘artificial shortage’ of vegetables – and the end consumers were also forced to pay more for their staples. However, some volunteers and residential communities figured out a solution. Deepanjali Naik, a resident and member of the Resident Welfare Association, said, “For a long time now – much longer than the lockdown – we have been using milk, vegetables and eggs supplied by farmers who have organic farms nearby. Now in time of the lockdown, even other farmers who are finding it difficult to arrange transport to interior parts of the city have started to sell to nearby apartments, and this is proving beneficial.” Similarly, Horticultural Producers' Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS) said they are also trying to take farmers' produce to the door steps of residents, with many of the major markets being non-functional. GR Sreenivasan, Chairman of the quasi-government body of farmers and the state Horticulture Department, said, “We have 15 vehicles all around the city targeting apartment complexes on each day of the week to supply fresh vegetables and fruits.” He also claimed that there is no drastic change in prices of their products and supply is usual in the 200-plus HOPCOMS-run stores across the city.  Similarly, there are volunteer initiatives like Caremongers India are helping farmers sell their produce directly to customers.  In the first week of lockdown, there were numerous reports of farmers not only incurring huge financial losses but also being forced to waste their produce due to logistical gaps. Since then things have slightly improved for some sections with district authorities allowing and facilitating transport of agricultural commodities to the markets. However, farmers all over the state say that the situation is far from normal.

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Row over BJP MLA's photo on food packets, unions say bought with workers’ fund

Controversy

A controversy erupted when food packets were distributed with a photograph of MLA Aravind Limbavali along with PM Modi and CM Yediyurappa.

Soumya Chatterjee

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A photo of BJP MLA Aravind Limbavali along with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa pasted on food packets meant for relief for stranded migrants has created a controversy. The relief materials in the form of dry rations were being distributed by the state Labour Department to help economically disadvantaged communities who are now struggling for basic food following the national lockdown to counter the spread of COVID-19. While it is common for aid or government social welfare measures to have posters of the Prime Minister or Chief Minister, unions pointed out this is not applicable in this case. They have accused the Mahadevapura MLA of falsely claiming credit for the rations handed out to the migrant workers. This because these food packets have been arranged using the fund from the Karnataka Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board. Funds for the Karnataka Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board are collected as a cess and is not like other forms of tax revenue. In a tweet, the All India Council of Central Trade Union Karnataka unit, said,”Utterly shameful behaviour from @ArvindLBJP ! This is relief brought from the money from the construction workers welfare board and unorganised sector welfare board! How are you put your photo on it! @BBMPCOMM please take action as you are incharge of delivery of ration Utterly shameful behaviour from @ArvindLBJP ! This is relief brought from the money from the construction workers welfare board and unorganised sector welfare board! How are you put your photo on it!@BBMPCOMM please take action as you are incharge of delivery of ration https://t.co/6q9Z64irVL — AICCTU Karnataka (@aicctukar) April 9, 2020 AICCTU and other voluntary organisations and individuals are working with the Karnataka Labour Department to ensure supply of dry ration in association with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. Responding to one of the tweets tagging him and questioning the move, Karnataka Labour Secretary Captain Manivannan replied, “You should seek an explanation from those who posted the stickers. We, at labour dept and DIPR (Department of Public Relations), spend our energy and time in ensuring the labourers get food, not on who gets the credit.” Commissioner sir why are politicians taking credit on this great initiative by GOK? Please explain.. @mani1972ias @Karnataka_DIPR https://t.co/69B60pMAB8 pic.twitter.com/3FDsubma2m — Bilal Irfan بلال عرفان बिलाल इरफान (@BilalJaiHind) April 8, 2020 Earlier on Wednesday, Manivannan had said the Labour Department along with staff, volunteers had collectively served more than 10 lakh needy persons. N Shivanna, General Secretary of Karnataka Constructions and Quarry Workers Union also said this is not government money as it is collected as a cess and it is only meant for the purpose of welfare of labourers.

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