Reporters Without Orders Ep 359: Truth behind locals ‘fleeing’ Sambhal, cash for Delhi stampede victims

This week, host Anmol Pritam is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.

Avdhesh’s ground report from Sambhal raised questions about the veracity of claims made by two prominent newspapers about locals “fleeing” the violence-tensed region. Citing officials, the outlets reported that several locals “fled” over fear of arrest or police crackdown. However, on visiting Sambhal, Avdhesh found this narrative to be misleading. Residents of houses mentioned as “locked” by the newspapers had a different tale to tell.

Shivnarayan reported on Railway authorities’ unusual move of distributing cash to the victims of the tragic stampede at the New Delhi railway station. He explains how the move was not only insensitive but violated Railways’ guidelines on distribution of solatium amounts.

He also discusses his report about the Central Pollution Control Board findings on the water quality of Ganga and Yamua during Mahakumbh. Not only the water in several ghats of Prayagraj was found to be unfit for bathing, the levels of faecal bacteria in some locations was over 13 times the permissible limit.

He had previously also reported on how almost all of the air monitoring stations in Delhi violated CPCB norms. Out of the 25 stations he visited, at least 22 were either surrounded by dense vegetation or had obstacles blocking airflow in clear violation of the regulatory body’s guidelines.

Tune in.

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:02:25 – Reality of locals ‘fleeing’ Sambhal

00:12:50 – Stampede at New Delhi railway station

00:26:00 – CPCB report on Mahakumbh’s waters

00:41:03 – Delhi AQI monitors flouting norms

00:47:08 – Recommendations

Recommendations

Avdhesh

Chamcha Yug

Gulamgiri

Shivnarayan

Dubliners

Anmol

The Post

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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