{"id":94997,"date":"2021-05-30T05:16:10","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T23:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=94997"},"modified":"2021-06-02T20:10:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T14:40:07","slug":"dainik-jagrans-misleading-reports-portray-mass-burials-havent-risen-due-to-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/dainik-jagrans-misleading-reports-portray-mass-burials-havent-risen-due-to-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Dainik Jagran’s misleading reports portray mass burials in Prayagraj haven’t risen due to COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India did not only overwhelm an unprepared healthcare system but also choked crematoriums unaccustomed to performing mass funerals. Many of those unable to afford crematoriums performed water burials in the Ganges or buried their loved ones on the river’s banks. In the second week of May, Dainik Bhaskar<\/a> reported that over 2,000 bodies were found along a 1,140 km stretch of the banks of Ganga across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Multiple other media outlets \u2013 Reuters<\/a>, Hindustan Times<\/a>, India Today<\/a>, Mojo Story<\/a> and BBC<\/a> \u2013 have also reported about the river and its banks swollen with corpses.<\/p>\n

But Dainik Jagran, over the last few days, has published a series of reports attempting to portray that mass burials have always happened along the banks of Ganga and online media is misleading its readers through sensational coverage of the issue.<\/p>\n

On May 26, the Hindi daily\u00a0published an image of mass burials<\/a> and claimed it was taken three years ago. Based on this photograph, the outlet asserted that most pictures of mass graves at Shringverpur ghat in Prayagraj were taken in 2018. It then attempted to normalise the deaths by portraying there has been no increase due to the pandemic and such mass burials have always been taking place.<\/p>\n

That same day, Jagran published<\/a> another report on its print edition headlined, ‘There was no corona three years ago, but pictures of the banks of Ganga from three years ago were the same.’ The outlet said, “Those who are creating a ruckus on social media and posting images of dead bodies on the banks of Ganga in Sangamnagri (Prayagraj) as recent, must look at this image carefully. This picture (image on left) is from March 18, 2018, when Shringverpur ghat was being renovated prior to Kumbh 2019.” The report also said, “There has been an age-old tradition of burying bodies at Shringverpur and Phaphamau ghats in Prayagraj.<\/span>”<\/p>\n

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According to the report, Dainik Jagran’s five-man team covered about a dozen villages along a stretch of 70 km including, Shringverpur ghat<\/a> and Phaphamau ghat<\/a><\/span>. This report, also published in Jagran’s New Delhi edition, highlighted three points (marked in red) \u2013 1) Several Hindu communities practise cremation by burial; 2) Internet media sensationalised the issue; 3) People who have died due to leprosy and snake bites were buried on the ghat. A similar report was published in Jagran’s Prayagraj edition<\/a> on May 28.<\/p>\n

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The report was tweeted<\/a> by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on May 26. It gained over 11,000 retweets and 35,000 likes. Other prominent BJP leaders who tweeted<\/a> the report include BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, BJP spokesperson Neetu Dabas and BJP leader Ravinder Gupta. Malviya and Gupta stated that the people criticising the government are only trying to defame Hindus by politicising COVID.<\/p>\n