Earlier this year, a message stating that a new harbour is being opened in Bengaluru went viral on WhatsApp. The message, which had a photo of a harbour, claimed that the new harbour will reduce the travel time for Bengaluru residents. It also claimed that petrol price will become Rs 20 per litre and implying that “true Kannadigas” would vote for the BJP as the “initiative to set up the port” was done by the Central government.
“New harbour opened up in Bangalore by Modi government. This will reduce travelling time and transport duties. Due to such a great step, experts predict petrol price will come down to Rs 20 per litre. But media will never show this. What a move! Salute Sir… Let’s spread some positivity. Share if you are a true Indian. If Kannadigas are true Indians then they will vote for BJP (sic),” the message read.
However, this message is fake. There cannot be a port in Bengaluru as the city is landlocked. The city spanning across 2,190 sq km is located in the Deccan Plateau at a height of 920 km. The city shares borders with Kolar and Chikkaballapura in the northeast and Mandya and Ramanagara in the southeast. Once known as the poor man’s hill station, one must travel at least 79 km from the city to hit the coastline, clearly indicating that the message is fake.
Karnataka has 11 ports in total and the oldest among them is in Mangaluru, which is 162 km away from Bengaluru. The other ports include New Mangaluru, Belekeri, Tadadi, Honnavar, Bhatkal, Kundapura, Hangarakatta, Malpe, Padubidri, Pavinakuruva and Manki. In addition, the Ministry of Shipping had not issued any orders for the establishment of a new port in Karnataka. Besides, the WhatsApp message, which claimed that petrol prices would fall, also turned out to be false. Currently, the petrol prices in regions with ports in the state is somewhere around Rs 70.