An old image used to claim thousands defied lockdown in Kalaburagi district
A viral image with a caption claiming several thousands of people have come out, flouting the COVID-19 lockdown to participate in the Siddhalingeswara temple chariot festival in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka.
A Twitter handle named Swami Nishchalanand questioned the Karnataka Government for not taking any steps as Kalaburagi is one of the hotspots affected by COVID-19. Later, he accepted the facts behind the post and apologized.
A Facebook user named Enayathullah Mohamed posted the image with a caption asking why the media isn’t releasing such images and blaming the Karnataka government for not following central government’s order on the lockdown.
Apart from Facebook and Twitter, several websites have also posted the image and written a similar narrative.
A Hindi news portal ‘Satyahindi’ run by Journalist Ashutosh and others, also posted the image, but removed it later.
Many memes were also made after this post became viral.
Truth
News is true but the image is old
The Image is an OLD image but the news that people violated the lockdown to celebrate the Siddhalingeswara temple chariot festival in Kalaburagi is true. This has been reported in Twitter handle of ANI. But, the crowd in the original image was way lesser than portrayed in the viral image.
The viral Image was published in Deccan Herald on 10 January 2017. According to the article, the image is from Gavimath Chariot Festival in Koppal. This is also called as the Kumbh Mela of the South.
A YouTube video which was uploaded on 8 January 2019, shows the visuals from the festival.
