A video of the decoration of a temple is being circulated with the claim that it shows the decoration of the pandal ahead of the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, on 5 August.
However, we found that the video is from January 2020 and shows Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Hyderabad.
CLAIM
The video shows the layout of a temple with several people busy decorating it. The claim shared along with the video reads: “Pandal decoration for Bhoomi Pujan of Ram Mandir.”
The video shared by Facebook user ‘Love is Almighty’ had garnered over 4,500 views at the time of publishing the article.
Several Facebook and Twitter users shared the video with a similar narrative.
The Quint received multiple queries on the claims being made regarding the viral video on its WhatsApp helpline.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We searched on YouTube using keywords “temple decoration” and found a video uploaded with the same claim on 1 August. A user had commented on the video saying that it’s an old video from Hyderabad.
Then,we ran a search using keywords “Hyderabad temple decoration” and found a video uploaded on 5 January with the caption: “Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Jiyaguda, Hyderabad”
We came across multiple YouTube videos uploaded in January which mentioned that they show Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Hyderabad. They can be viewed here and here.
A comparison of the YouTube videos and the viral video revealed several similar frames. For instance, the architecture and the decoration of the temple are the same in both the videos.
Further, the appearance and the placement of the idol is also the same in both the videos.
Also, a local reporter confirmed to The Quint that the video is indeed from Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Hyderabad. He further said that it is an old video, from January this year, and was taken on “Vaikunta Ekadasi” day.
Evidently, an old video form Hyderabad is being falsely claimed to show decoration of pandal for the Ram Temple Bhoomi Pujan ceremony on 5 August.
Earlier, The Quint’s WebQoof team had debunked several false claims regarding the said ceremony in Ayodhya.
For example, an old 3D animation video of a Jain temple was viral as the model for the upcoming Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Further, an old video of a performance by Pune-based dhol-tasha group in the streets of Spain had gone viral with a false claim that it shows celebrations ahead of the Bhoomi Pujan in Ayodhya.
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