CLAIM
A video showing a trash skimmer cleaning water bodies is being shared by multiple users on Twitter and Facebook with a claim that the machine has been gifted by Israel to clean the Ganga. The message goes on to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for maintaining great relations with Israel.
The message reads, “Israel has gifted this to India to clean Ganga. What a beautiful gesture! Thanks to Modi Government’s Friendship Efforts (sic).”
The message has also been shared by multiple users on Facebook.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim that the trash skimmers are being used in India is partially false as one of the clips used in the video is indeed from India. However, the claim that the machine has been gifted by Israel is completely false.
WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?
On breaking down the video into several key frames using Invid Google Chrome extension, we found that three different clips have been used in this video.
Let us break it down for you for better clarity.
CLIP 1: SHOWS A TRASH SKIMMER IN BALTIMORE
Using Yandex search engine, we came across an article which mentioned that the machine was used in the US. We used the keywords ‘trash skimmers used in USA to clean rivers’ and we came across a Youtube video linked which showed that it was used in 2013 after rains sent a trash down the Jones Falls and out into Baltimore Harbour.
CLIP 2: TRASH SKIMMER BEING USED IN NASHIK, MAHARASHTRA
On looking at the second clip, we noticed a board on top of the skimmer which read ‘Clean Godavari campaign’.
We used the same keywords on Google and came across a news article by The Times of India which had mentioned that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis flagged off the ‘Clean Godavari Campaign’ as part of the Green Kumbh in Nashik in 2015.
Taking a cue from there we looked up for Green Kumbh in Nashik and came across a video that was uploaded by Cleantech Infra, a private firm, which has now deployed trash skimmer machines in Varanasi, Allahabad, and Patna among other places.
This trash skimmer was deployed in Nashik in 2015.
Also, the details available on the website mention that the skimmer was manufactured by Aquarius Systems in the US and hasn’t been gifted by Israel.
CLAIM 3: SOLAR-POWERED WATER WHEEL IN BALTIMORE
On conducting a reverse image search of the third clip which is a part of the video, we found that this solar-powered water wheel is deployed in Baltimore, USA.
We also came across a report by NBC News which had covered the solar-powered water wheel.
WHERE DID THE MENTION OF ISRAEL COME FROM?
In 2015, Israel had offered to help India with water management and its Clean Ganga project. In 2017, PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu had said, in a joint statement, that the two countries will focus on water conservation, waste water treatment and its reuse for agriculture, desalination and cleaning of the Ganga.
Namani Gange is the flagship project of the Modi government, which aims to rejuvenate and conserve the river Ganga.
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