News Tamil Nadu

Memes Trolling Tamil Journos And DMK IT Wing Attempting To Defend DMK Govt Goes Viral

November 2, 2022
The Commune

Memes mocking Tamil Nadu journalists and news outlets attempting to defend the DMK government by denying any water logging are going viral on social media.

The northeast monsoon rains started in Tamil Nadu on October 29, bringing heavy rainfall to coastal areas like Chennai, Kanyakumari, and the Cauvery delta. Since Monday, at least two people have been killed in rain-related incidents in Chennai. Shanthi, 45, of Pulianthope in Chennai died on Tuesday morning after a concrete slab collapsed on her, and Devendhiran, 52, an auto driver, was electrocuted to death near Vyasarpadi. Water got into houses in low-lying areas of north Chennai.

However, a section of Tamil media, journalists, and the DMK IT wing went on a thank-you spree to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for preventing waterlogging and finishing rainwater drainage work on time, despite the fact that the heavy showers with the arrival of the North East monsoon rain inundated Chennai and its suburbs on Tuesday. Memes mocking the DMK government’s failure to complete rainwater drainage work on time are also widely circulated on social media.

Raja Shanmugasundaram, deputy editor of ABP-Nadu, shared a video of West Mambalam and stated that they were swimming in the area last year but the water did not stagnate despite raining for 5 hours straight, and he congratulated CM Stalin, Chennai Corporation, and Minister KN Nehru for their outstanding work.

He was, however, trolled for the tweet, with some Twitter users posting pictures and videos from West Mambalam, where the situation was far worse, with water logging the majority of the area. Sumanth Raman, a political analyst, shared a video of West Mambalam in front of the Sathyanarayanasamy Temple, in which the temple’s steps are submerged in water and water has entered the temple.

Another video of water logging in West Mambalam:

In another instance, ABP Nadu shared a photo of the Alwarpettai road from last year and this year, claiming that there is no water logging this year. The same images were tweeted by Tamilarasi Dhandapani, News18 Tamil’s principal correspondent, who congratulated Chennai Corporation on their efforts.

However, a Twitter user posted a video of water logging in the same Alwarpet area and questioned whether they had a conscience to lie in such a way.

Another Dravidian Stockist (DMK Tuticorin South District Youth Wing member), bragging about Dravida Model, shared a video of Chennai corporation commissioner Kiran Bedi inspecting water flow in the Pulianthope area, displaying visuals of free water flow in drainage.

However, Pulianthope is one of the worst affected areas due to water logging, with a woman named Shanti dying in the area after a concrete slab collapsed on her. The visuals from Pulinathope are distressing:

News18 Tamil Nadu posted a picture comparing yesterday and today in the Egmore area, claiming that the water has completely drained and that all is well in Egmore.

However, original Egmore visuals show that the water has not been drained and that people are having difficulty crossing the Egmore area.

Egmore:

Another Twitter user shared a News18 Tamil news card with an image of a person sitting in the rain and the caption, “Chennai resident enjoying the rains.” He expressed his regret and the level of reporting in Tamil Nadu that a person who was unable to stand up after having alcohol was shown enjoying the rain.

Another journalist, Sangeetha Kandavel, was posting only about areas where there was no flooding when the duty of the journalist is to point out where the government is making mistakes. She has tweeted about areas with little to no rain, such as GN Chetty Road, a few roads in T. Nagar, Pondy Bazaar, and a few others. However, she had never tweeted about heavy flooding areas such as Pulianthope, Perambur, West Mambalam, CM Stalin’s Kulathoor, and others where the water had flooded and disrupted normal life.

When the reality is that people are suffering as a result of water logging in several areas in Chennai, DMK IT Wing spreads misleading info with the headline “Rainwater-free Chennai roads.”

When the entire city of Chennai was sinking in flood, News18 Chief editor Karthigaiselvan in his tweet admired a picture that shows the reflection of the Ripon building from the waters stagnating in front of it.

Another Aadhan Tamil journalist, Madhesh, who wrote, “Chennai has flooded for one day rain. Commuters are suffering,” later deleted his post for unknown reasons. Many users claimed that the alleged journalist deleted the tweet because he supports the DMK.

Memes trolling the DMK government and Tamil journalists saying no water logging in Chennai:

 

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