Old and unrelated images of Khalsa Aid volunteers rescuing people in flood hit areas in Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar have surfaced in the backdrop of the glacial burst in Uttarakhand on February 7.
The images show Sikh men help people wade through knee deep water and are doing the rounds with captions that state that relief work had been facilitated by Khalsa Aid in Uttarakhand, in the aftermath of the glacier burst calamity.
BOOM found that the images are old and not related to the recent Uttarakhand tragedy. While one image is from the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir flood relief drive, the other is from 2019 Bihar floods. Khalsa Aid is a UK-based Sikh charity foundation that provides humanitarian relief and support to the victims of natural and manmade disasters around the world.
The website of the foundation states that it is the 'first international humanitarian aid organization drawing its faith from the Sikh principles'. According to
reports the charity has
dispatched its first batch of volunteers to Uttarakhand to help the victims of the glacier disaster.Captions on Twitter and Facebook with the image have taken a dig at the organisation and referred to the members as 'terrorists' in the background of the ongoing farmers' protest. It reads, "We are proud of our terrorists, they reached Uttarakhand yesterday. Proud of our terrorists (Khalsa Aid) #farmersprotest #Far,ersCallPMforDebate"
The tweet can be seen
here and archived
here.Another image shows Khalsa Aid's relief work and is viral with claims that it is from the recent Uttarakhand disaster. The screenshot has a description written in Punjabi, "Terrorists have arrived in Uttarakhand ….. We are bad people, sir, and work is also bad. #PrayForUttarakhand #FarmersProtests"
(Punjabi: ਉਤਰਾਖੰਡ ਚ ਆਤੰਕਵਾਦੀ ਪੁੱਜ ਗਏ …..ਅਸੀ ਮਾੜੇ ਲੋਕ ਆ ਜਨਾਬ ਤੇ ਕੰਮ ਵੀ ਮਾੜੇ ਵਕਤ ਚ ਈ ਆਈ ਦਾ … #PrayForUttarakhand #FarmersProtests") BOOM found that the image is from 2014 when a massive flood hit Jammu and Kashmir. The other viral image is from Khalsa Aid's relief work during the 2019 Bihar floods.
Image 1
A reverse image search led us to a
News18 photo story published on August 18, 2018. Description of the image (serial 8/9) reads, "Volunteers of Khalsa Aid assembling essential commodities food for flood-affected victims in chest-deep water. (Image: News18/ Pankaj Tomar)"
The Tribune India also featured this image in an article published on August 20, 2018.
BOOM also searched Khalsa Aid International's verified Facebook page and found
this image which was uploaded on February 25, 2015, with the caption, "We SALUTE the Khalsa Aid and JKSP volunteers who were the first on the ground helping in the Kashmir floods last year. These guys worked in extreme conditions to deliver much needed aid. Fantastic work guys! Thank You. www.khalsaaid.org"
Image 2
BOOM ran a reverse image search and found that the image is from Bihar. T
he image can be found on Khalsa Aid's Twitter handle; it was posted on October 4, 2019 with the caption, "
Bihar Floods Our @khalsaaid_india team has reached Patna, Bihar. We are delivering emergency aid as well as carrying out further assessments of the flood affected areas. Thank you for your support. #BiharFloods #Seva #khalsaaidindia #KhalsaAid "
BOOM observed the image closely and found 'Relief 2019' written on the banner of the relief vehicle.
On February 7, 2021, a glacial burst and massive flooding of the river Alaknanda and Dhauliganga at Chamoli District of Uttarakhand has claimed many lives and caused severe damage to the hydroelectric plants of that region. The calamity is believed to be caused by glacier bursts and avalanches in higher altitude regions of the district. So far 34 bodies have been recovered and more than 200 persons are still missing.
