AP police registered separate cases against Sakshi TV and Suman TV channels on the basis of complaints made by AP Water Resources Department, alleging that unfounded stories and rumors in the new channels are causing extreme panic among the people.
It objected that Sakshi TV channel has spread false stories saying, ‘Ponnur was submerged to wake up Amaravati’, and Suman TV has spread false stories saying, ‘Vijayawada is likely to be submerged due to the broken 67th gate of Prakasam Barrage due to heavy flood’.
Separate cases have been registered at Tadepalli and Vijayawada One Town police stations on charges of spreading false information, creating panic through rumors and other charges.
“The government, blinded by the illusion of real estate, diverted flood water from Kondaveeti Vagu to Krishna, Guntur and Appapuram channels to save Amaravati, causing flooding in the fields of Ponnur. Farmers suffered serious losses due to this. Ponnur was submerged to revive Amaravati,”, a news story was broadcast on Sakshi channel on the 16th of this month.
Ponnur YSRCP leader Ambati Muralikrishna made these allegations and published them on the Sakshi website. Later, the Water Resources Department officials, who realized that this was done only to spread bad news about Amaravati, filed a complaint with the police.
Moreover, “The flood water from Kondaveeti Vagu was not actually released into the Guntur channel, the officials revealed that the gates of that channel were closed due to heavy floods. They said that the flood water of Kondaveeti Vagu has been being discharged into the Krishna River since the 13th of this month”, Suman TV Channel posted a post.
“Due to heavy rain, the water in the drains has reached the fields. But a case has been registered against Guntur channel AEE Avinash for broadcasting a baseless story on Sakshi Channel to mislead the people. On the 15th of this month, Suman TV channel posted a post with baseless information on its Facebook page saying, “Broken Prakasam Barrage Gate 67 – Vijayawada is likely to be submerged in heavy flood” it further added.
Officials deplored that many people shared it on social media, causing panic among the people. It found that this misinformation was spread through an X-account named Bhaskara Reddy @ Chicago Bachi. “Will the coalition government, which cannot even repair or grease the Prakasam Barrage Gate, build projects?”, he asked.
In fact, officials say that Gate No. 67 is safe. In this context, a case has also been registered in Vijayawada One Town based on a complaint by Dam Superintendent U. Satya Rajesh.
