Fears of another flash flood from Tibet have receded after Chinese authorities informed that the water level of another artificial glacial lake is receding. Meanwhile, the death toll today crossed 600, with 2,426 people still reported missing. Among them are 517 foreign nationals. India’s External Affairs Ministry said, nearly 400 Indians in Tibet are safe, but more than 300 Indians are missing.
Reports emanating from ground zero reveal an alarming situation. With three days having passed since the flash flood occurred, chances of survival of those swept away in flash flood are bleak. Shashidharan from New York is waiting news about his wife and 14-year-old daughter, while Dr Milind Chitale of Mumbai, an avid trekker, and his wife are missing. Umesh Sharma, who runs an Indian restaurant in Australia and his wife are also missing. Their relatives only know their last location before communication snapped. Mohit Kaushik and Ruchi Khatri of Canada had gone on trekking. Nobody knows whether they are alive or dead.
Nitu Tiwari of UK had gone on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. Her parents and brother are still waiting. Her last location was Gyurong check post of China when flash flood struck. Spandan Sahu of UK had just finished her A level from Royal Grammar School. He had gone to Nepal with his father Santosh Sahu, mother Surabhi and 13-year-old sister Saina. There is no info about the whereabouts of this family. Megha Shah of Canada had gone with her husband Dhaval Shah on Kailash pilgrimage, along with Shubhakshi Rawala and her husband Sumit Rawala. They were staying in Kailash Hotel. There has been no contact with these four persons.
There are many such families still waiting. Communications are still cut off in the areas surrounding ground zero. Relatives are pleading with their contacts in army, or government of media to know the whereabouts of their near and dear ones. Everyone is helpless. We can only pray to God for a miracle so that more people return alive.
BJP vs Congress : Social media war intensifies
BJP’s IT cell has suddenly become aggressive. The IT cell units in different states are bombarding social media with memes and videos against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. It all began with Rahul Gandhi’s “Chhatron Ki Goonj” rallies. A website named “Jhooth Ki Goonj” has surfaced to carry out ‘factcheck’ of all allegations levelled by Rahul Gandhi.
According to this website, Rahul Gandhi levelled a total of 40 allegations in his four programs. Out of them 29 were completely fake and 11 were misleading. The website claims it used government data and other facts from 134 sources for fact checking. Congress leaders have alleged that this website has a BJP connect, but BJP has officially denied any connection. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said, BJP has nothing to do with this website which has been promoted by GenZ creators. He said, the website is doing an expose about Rahul Gandhi’s PR stunts and there is no harm in it. Joshi says, if Congress has rebuttals, it is free to do so.
A coordinated and aggressive campaign has been launched by BJP IT cell during the last 72 hours against Rahul Gandhi and Congress. This campaign is being run by different state units of BJP IT cell. They have posted memes and video clips against Congress and Rahul Gandhi. Clearly, Congress is in a daze after this carpet bombing through new creatives on social media. Political war on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is not new. During 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and his team had used the internet in a massive campaign. Among followers, Narendra Modi is the king of digital media in India. Modi’s IT team has been dominating social media for the last several years. Meanwhile, other political parties joined the fray on social media.
Congress IT cell and its units tried their utmost to tarnish Narendra Modi’s image. The intensity increased. In the last two or three years, the attacks on Modi have become personal. BJP IT cell responded, but it appeared to be on the defensive. Now that the BJP IT cell has a new team, it has adopted an aggressive approach and has hit the ground running. There has been a flood of memes, videos and posts attacking Urban Naxals. Rahul Gandhi has always been BJP IT cell’s target. The good thing is that there has been no below the belt attacks. I think in the coming days and months, the war will intensify.
Why are Shehbaz, Munir afraid of Imran’s sons?
On the first day of the second Test match between England and Pakistan at Lord’s, a controversy arose between Pakistan Cricket Board and the official broadcaster Sky Sports. Former England captain Mike Atherton took an 18-minute interview with jailed Pakistani cricket icon and former PM Imran Khan’s two sons Kassim and Suleman. Sky Sports was to telecast this interview during lunch break, when news spread and the Pakistan Cricket Board went into a jiffy. PCB reportedly threatened that if the interview was aired, the Pakistani team would not return to the field to play.
PCB tried hard to stop the interview from being telecast but Sky Sports broadcasted. PCB officials were fearing that Kassim and Suleman would expose the Pakistan government. Sky Sports went ahead with the telecast and surprisingly, it was also carried by Pakistani’s state broadcaster PTV. All hell broke loose, and in Pakistan, the interview was cut short by running commercials. Now, Pakistani YouTubers are doing the rest by posting video clips of the interview on social media. In the interview, Imran Khan’s sons alleged that Pakistan government is conspiring to kill their father in jail. Kassim and Suleman’s views have come at a time when Pakistan government is trying to bypass its Supreme Court order for admitting Imran Khan to a private hospital for treatment.
Pakistani officials at Lord’s were shell-shocked when they watched the interview on Sky Sports. Kassim and Suleman are the sons of Imran’s first wife Jemima. They now live in London. They spent much of their time in Pakistan. Both the sons went to Pakistan several times to meet their father in jail, but were not allowed to meet by Pakistani officials. Pakistani army chief Gen Asim Munir knows, people on the streets will become more outraged if they watch Imran’s sons on TV. This was the reason why both the government and army went into a tizzy when the live interview of Imran’s sons was broadcast from Lord’s.