India TV Fact Check: A video is going viral on social media, in which it is being claimed that due to work on the bullet train project, river water was stopped at many places, due to which flood-like conditions were created after the rain. However, this claim being made viral on social media is wrong. Vadodara city in Gujarat is experiencing flood-like conditions due to heavy rainfall. The Vishwamitri River, which flows through the city, saw a sudden increase in water levels, causing the river to overflow into the city.
What is the claim?
A video has been going viral on social media, claiming that the ongoing work on the bullet train project has led to flood-like conditions in Vadodara, Gujarat. The video uses Google Maps to show that the water flow in the Vishwamitri River has been obstructed at several points due to temporary dams built as part of the project. It suggests that these dams, created to facilitate access roads for the bullet train construction, have reduced the river's flow and caused the river to overflow into the city, leading to the recent floods. The video caption claims that this obstruction resulted in heavy flooding in Vadodara.
An x user shared the video and said, "This is what caused massive flood situation in vishwamitririver Vadodara. To make temporary approach roads for Bullet Train, they blocked downstream of river at multiple places. River can not flow smooth, nor it can take water as per its natural routes."
Indian Railway issues statement
As the video linking the bullet train project to the recent floods in Vadodara went viral on social media, we conducted an investigation. During our inquiry, we found a statement issued by the Indian Railways, which refuted the claims made in the video. According to the Railways, the video suggesting that the river was blocked due to the bullet train construction is misleading. The satellite images shown in the video are from the pre-monsoon period. To prevent any obstruction and considering the heavy rain forecast, the temporary access road built across the river was removed before the monsoon began. The ongoing bridge construction work does not hinder the river's flow in any way.
Conclusion
India TV's investigation revealed that the claim associated with the viral video is false. Therefore, the viral claim circulating with the video on social media is incorrect. People are advised to be cautious of such misleading posts.
(Input: Anamika Gaur)
