A video has recently gone viral on Facebook and other social media platforms which shows trucks standing on an open ground loaded with sacks of onion. The video has been made viral with a caption which states that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in a pact with the Congress and is not allowing trucks to go forward to keep onion prices inflated. The video further claims that the onions are rotting. The trucks are allegedly parked at Ghojadanga, a village near the India Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas District. A lot of social media users have shared this video.
https://www.facebook.com/avani.dave.5/videos/2549989535055423/
ममता सरकार और कांग्रेस पार्टी की मिलीभगत से प्याज का स्टॉक सड़ रहा है…ट्रांसपोर्टरों की कोई सुनवाई नहीं है…मोदी सरकार को किसी तरह बदनाम किया जाए, ताकि प्याज की सप्लाय रुक जाए और महंगाई बढ़ती रहे…लगभग २०० से ऊपर प्याज के ट्रकों को रोक दिया है.
Aashish Raghuvanshi ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಸೋಮವಾರ, ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/SUNILSH74419810/status/1204465145671376901
ममता सरकार और कांग्रेस पार्टी की मिलीभगत से प्याज का स्टॉक सड़ रहा है। ट्रांसपोर्टरों की कोई सुनवाई नहीं है।
*मोदी सरकार को किसी तरह बदनाम किया जाए ताकि प्याज की सप्लाय रुक जाए और महंगाई बढ़ती रहे। सुनिए👇 pic.twitter.com/9BnwOzXO2y— अरविन्द टाँक BJP 💯% FB ( मोदी परिवार ) (@51tankarv) December 10, 2019
ममता सरकार और कांग्रेस पार्टी की मिलीभगत से प्याज का स्टॉक सड़ रहा है। ट्रांसपोर्टरों की कोई सुनवाई नहीं है।
*मोदी सरकार को किसी तरह बदनाम किया जाए ताकि प्याज की सप्लाय रुक जाए और महंगाई बढ़ती रहे। *
लगभग 200 से ऊपर प्याज की गाड़ियों को रोक दिया है। सुनिए इस वीडियो को।😡😡👇 pic.twitter.com/l2Va0saOTs— Arun 🇮🇳👍🙏 (@Arun15902856) December 11, 2019
Fact Check
The claims given in the video are false.
On September 29, the Central Government had banned the export of Onions to neighbouring countries to cater to the supply in the Indian Domestic Market after unseasonal rainfall hindered the growing of the crop, thus affecting its supply. The trucks were stopped at the India Bangladesh border because of the same reason. However, the price of the crop has been rising due to unseasonal rainfall, which has resulted in the damage of crops.
A Times of India Report on October 5 also spoke about the situation at the border, which is around three months old. According to the report, 225 trucks carrying 6750 tonnes of onions had left Nashik District in Maharashtra to deliver the onions in Bangladesh. However, these trucks were stopped at Ghojadanga in North 24 Parganas District and Mahadipur in Malda districts of West Bengal after the ban of onion exports was imposed on 29 September. However, the trucks had left Nashik before the export ban was put in place, and had reached the border on the same date. Dindori MP Bharti Pawar approached Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Nashik District Guardian Minister Girish Mahajan who then intervened into the matter and the trucks were then allowed to go forward on October 4.
Fact-Checking Website AltNews contacted a local logistics firm near the Ghojadanga border, and the employees said that trucks were parked at the border to export onions to Bangladesh around two months back. Currently, there are no trucks present at the India Bangladesh border to export onions.
Conclusion
Neither the Indian National Congress nor Mamata Bannerjee had any hand in stopping trucks loaded with onions, which was actually done by the Central Government to ensure supply of the vegetable in domestic markets. The video is true, but the caption is misleading. Hence, the claims given are false.
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