The post office in the picturesque town of Munnar in Kerala has been witnessing an unusual rush for the past three days. People are queuing up in large numbers to open postal accounts since July 28.
In fact, estate workers reportedly took leave from work to open postal accounts while police had to be deployed to manage the crowd that had been gathering outside the post office. The post office even had to start a special drive to open all the accounts.
What apparently triggered the sudden rush and interest in opening accounts with the Indian post office was a falsified news report. According to The News Minute, there was news that announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised a deposit of Rs 3-15 lakh for all those having an account with the post office.
When this was revealed, the post officials clarified that they had no information on the Central government announcing anything in this regard, nor did they relay any such information to the public.
Elaborating on the same, V Paramasivom, Superintendent – Post Office, said: “We did not give any information that they will get benefits by opening postal accounts. Last week, there were directions from the postal department to open Rs 1 crore new accounts and we arranged the facility also. As per the scheme, a deposit of Rs 100, Aadhar Card, and two passport size photographs were required to start the savings bank account.”
Another fake news report spread on July 29 mentioned that land parcels and houses would be distributed for free. It further stated those whose names did not feature in the land distribution list at Kuttiyarvalley could grab the opportunity by submitting their papers at the Devikulam office. Following this, the Regional District Office at Devikulam also saw a similar rush from workers.
The crowd dispelled only after the RDO officials came out with a notice mentioning clearly that they had not made any such announcement. They also asked the police to take action against those who were spreading these rumours.
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