Fact test: it was not the rush at Borivali station after local trains resumed in Mumbai

Train services in Mumbai were resumed for the general public on 10 February after 10 months. Suburban train services, the Mumbai lifeline, were suspended on March 23, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and have been resumed since July 15, 2020 for certain groups. .

In this context, a twenty-second track of a train station full of commuters circulates on social media claiming that it is the scene of the Borivali station in Mumbai after train services for the general public began.

The caption with such a video uploaded on Facebook says: ‘First day after the suburban train services are opened to all commuters … A scene from Borivali today …’

While the resumption of train services is a much-needed relief for Mumbaikars, this video has created panic among netizens as Mumbai saw an increase in Covid-19 cases in January 2021 compared to December 2020.

India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found the allegation along with the video misleading. This track is at least five years old. The Western Railway has confirmed that the current situation at Borivali station does not match the footage being distributed. On February 1, about 12.4 lakh commuters used Western Railway, which includes Borivali, while an average of 35 lakh people travel daily.

The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, shee and here.

AFWA investigation

Using the InVID tool and appropriate keywords, we found the same video that was uploaded to a YouTube channel on March 12, 2016. ‘Amazing local mumbai crowd’, reads the caption of the video.

The video was also shared in December 2020 and January 2021, which makes it clear that it is old and not related to the reopening of local trains in Mumbai on 1 February.

For better clarity on the matter, India Today reached out to Sumit Thakur, chief liaison officer of Western Railway, who confirmed to us that the situation at Borivali station is not similar to the video in question.

‘About 12.4 lakh people traveled by Western Railway on which Borivali is located on 1 February, while an average of 35 lakh people traveled through this route daily. ‘This is an old video used by social media users with false claims,’ ‘Thakur said.

We also found a tweet from the official handle of Western Railway, Mumbai Central Division, confirming that security forces are being deployed at the suburban divisions of Mumbai to regulate the crowd, and no large crowd was reported from any of the divisions.

The video seems to be fake, as local trains were only resumed for the general public after almost ten months yesterday. Adequate uniform staff are deployed at stations to regulate the crowd. Such a gathering of a multitude of congregations has not yet been reported.

– Sr.DSC / MUMBAI / WR (@rpfwrbct) 2 February 2021

At present, the general public is not allowed to take local trains between 07:00 and 12:00 and between 16:00 and 21:00, which are considered peak times. A look at the February 1 Borivali station uploaded by the verified Twitter guide of “Free Press Journal” can be seen below.

Back to normal? A look at commuters in Borivali, while Mumbai reopens local trains to the general public after more than ten months# MumbaiLocalTreins #Mumbaikar # MumbaiLocal @WesternRly pic.twitter.com/kl6DX4Vv0K

– Free Journal (@fpjindia) 1 February 2021

It is therefore clear that the video in question is at least five years old and not related to the resumption of local trains in Mumbai.

(With input from Vidya in Mumbai)