Rules released by central govt from 20 April to 3 May viral in social media is FAKE

April 16: Social media users, especially in WhatsApp, has been circulating an image on Friday with a heading- “Released Rules by Central Govt (From 20 April to 3 May)- Guwahati: Assam”. The image has become viral in social media which has given birth to confusion and panic among many. way2barak also received several phone calls and messages from the people regarding the authenticity of the image and the message contained in it.

The image contains two groups “Closed” and “Open.” In the closed category, there are 11 subjects wherein it was mentioned that school/ colleges/ universities, international/ domestic airways, passenger railways, cinema, shopping malls, gym, intra-state, inter-district transport, religious places, swimming pool, parlours and city bus for employees will be closed from 20 April to 3 May. Whereas, in the open category, 32 items were listed which will remain open during this phase.

way2barak spoke with a wide range of officials in the state to discern the real fact. On enquiry, it was revealed that the image was FAKE and no such instructions was issued either by the central government or by the Assam government. A Facebook user commented, “The image is correct, but it pertains to 2020 and not 2021.”

“Such kind of false and misleading content in social media definitely causes panic among the people and therefore the administration must adopt strict measures and book those who are involved in spreading such FAKE news/ messages,” said an octogenarian retired teacher of Silchar.