Fact-Check: Temple Demolished in This Clip Was Not Run by Tamil Nadu Government

A local shopkeeper and the Tamil Nadu government have clarified that the temple is run by a family, not the state.

A video of a temple being demolished by a backhoe is being shared on social media, where users are implying that the temple was being demolished following the Tamil Nadu state government’s orders.

At the time of writing this report, this post had gathered over 4.35 lakh views and was shared by more than 4,400 users.

(Archives of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here and here.)

Is it true?: The claim is false, as the temple in the video is privately owned.

• A local shopkeeper confirmed to The Quint that the temple located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu was a family temple, which was demolished for reconstruction.
  

How did we find out?: The viral post was quote-reposted by the Tamil Nadu government’s fact-check unit, which mentioned that the temple was a private temple with its own administration, who had demolished it themselves.

This temple is not under the control of HR&CE. It is a private temple under their own administration.
This temple is not demolished by TN Government. The private administration themselves demolished the temple. (1/3) https://t.co/qmk2yhunN6

— TN Fact Check (@tn_factcheck) January 19, 2024

• Using Google Lens, we translated the Tamil text in the viral video and saw that the temple’s name is Sri Nalla Kambar Vinayagar Temple on Nimanthakara street in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. 

• Taking a cue from this, we looked for the location on Google Maps, which showed us a still-erect temple from an older visual of the area.

Exploring the street on Google maps, we identified a shop located down the street from this temple.

Speaking to The Quint, local shopkeeper Maanik Basha said that the temple was a privately run temple and it was demolished for rebuilding and renovation purposes.

Temples registered with TN government: The Tamil Nadu government has a website which lists all the temples completely or partially run by the state’s government, by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (TNHRCE) Department.

• We went through the list of temples registered with the TNHRCE in Kanchipuram, but it did not contain the name of this temple, which is located on Nimanthakara street with the pin code 631502.

• This confirms that the temple is indeed owned and run privately.

• The Quint has attempted to reach out to the family that runs the temple and will update this report with their response when it is received.

Conclusion: A video of a temple being demolished in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram is being shared to falsely claim that it was demolished by the state’s MK Stalin-led government.

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