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| - Fact Check: Iconic bell tower in Tagore's varsity was not razed due to Amit Shah's visit
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the bell tower was damaged in August this year after a banyan tree uprooted and fell on it during a storm. It has nothing to do with Amit Shah's visit to the campus.
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India Today Fact Check
The heritage structure was damaged in August this year as a big banyan tree uprooted and fell on it after a storm. The site will be restored soon.
Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee has been repeatedly attacking the BJP, calling it a party of outsiders who not respect Bengal's culture. And now, Amit Shah's two-day visit to the state triggered a social media controversy after some netizens alleged that a heritage structure at Visva Bharati University, founded by Rabindranath Tagore, was pulled down for the Union Home minister's visit to Santiniketan.
Amit Shah visited Santiniketan on December 20 and paid homage to Tagore at Rabindra Bhavan on the university campus. Soon after, an image of a damaged "Ghanta Tala", a century-old bell tower, began circulating on social media.
Several Twitter and Facebook users claim the iconic bell tower was demolished to ensure security for Shah's visit to the campus.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the bell tower was damaged in August this year after a banyan tree uprooted and fell on it during a storm. It has nothing to do with Amit Shah's visit to the campus.
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The damaged bell tower
Using appropriate keywords in Bengali, we found some news reports from mainstream Bengali news websites about the incident.
As per these news reports, the bell tower was damaged as a decades-old banyan tree by its side fell on the structure after a storm in August this year.
AFWA contacted Ashok Kumar Mahato, the registrar of Visva Bharati University, who confirmed to us over phone that "Ghanta Tala" was indeed damaged as a tree fell on the structure a few months back.
Mahato refuted the viral claim saying, "Amit Shah was not supposed to visit or pass through Ghanta Tala, and so, there was no such activity around the area. The structure got damaged a few months back."
The bell tower had become synonymous with the university as it was used even during Tagore's time to maintain school timings.
As per news reports, there have been controversies over the delay in restoration of the structure.
But the viral claim saying that the heritage bell tower was demolished due to Amit Shah's visit is wrong. The "Ghanta Tala" was damaged during a storm earlier this year and it has no relation to the Union Home minister's visit to Visva Bharati.
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