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  • 2021-06-17 (xsd:date)
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  • This video shows demolition of illegal constructions by local Kashmiris, not Rohingyas (en)
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  • A video has been shared in multiple Facebook and Instagram posts that claim it shows the illegally-built houses of Rohingya Muslims being dismantled by authorities in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The claim is false: the video shows the demolition of illegal constructions by local Kashmiris in Srinagar city, where no Rohingya live, according to local authorities and an AFP correspondent. The video was published here on Facebook on June 11, 2021. It has been shared more than 900 times. The post’s Hindi-language caption reads: The illegally built houses of Rohingya Muslims are being removed by the authorities in Kashmir. Is Modi doing this correctly, please answer. Kashmir refers to the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir . The Hindu-nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has for years asked state and territory governments to identify and deport the approximately 40,000 Rohingya it says are living in India. The logo of Jammu Links News , a local YouTube channel, appears in the top-right corner of the video. An identical video was also shared alongside a similar claim here and here on Facebook; and here and here on Instagram. However, the claim is false. Keyword searches on Google found the original video published here on the Jammu Links News YouTube channel on June 5, 2021, in a report on the demolition of illegal construction in Kashmir’s Srinagar city. 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, reads the video caption. Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (L) and on YouTube (R) Bashir Ahmed Bhat, vice-president of the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority which carried out the demolitions, said the claim that these were houses of Rohingyas was baseless. This is a wrong claim. The demolitions were carried out as a routine against illegal construction by the locals in the prohibited areas around Dal Lake. Our demolition drives are never against any community, and there are no Rohingyas living in the area. The claims that any Rohingya were living there are baseless, he told AFP on June 14, 2021. AFP’s Srinagar-based correspondent also said that the encroachment was against illegal structures erected by the locals near Dal Lake. He said there are no Rohingya refugee camps in Srinagar city. Local media reported on the demolition drive around the Dal Lake in Srinagar in June 2021, including here , here and here This news report mentions that during the drive, one double storey, two single storeys, three tin sheds, one room and bathroom raised in the green belt area taking undue advantage of the current lockdown (Covid-19) were onspot demolished by the demolition team of this wing. However, none of them mentioned the presence of Rohingyas or the demolition of the refugee homes. (en)
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