2009 photo is being shared as that depicting the current water crisis in Delhi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 22, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the photo attached to the post depicts the recent water crisis in Delhi under the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Government. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo depicting the current water crisis in Delhi.
Fact: The photo was taken on 30 June 2009 in Sanjay Colony, New Delhi by photographer Adnan Abidi, for the international news agency Reuters. In 2009, the CM of Delhi was Sheila Dikshit, and responding to the news then, she had given directives to tackle the burgeoning water crisis. On 16 June 2021, LG Anil Baijal called for a detailed report from the Delhi Jal Board on the water crisis in the city amid complaints of water shortage. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search was done on the photo in the post, the same image was found to be taken on 30 June 2009 and was available on stock photo website Alamy. According to the description of the photo, residents of Sanjay Colony crowded around a water tanker provided by the state-run Delhi Jal Board to fill their containers and the then Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit had given directives to tackle the burgeoning water crisis caused by uneven distribution of water in the city. The photo was clicked by photographer Adnan Abidi, for international news agency Reuters. Similar photos were even used in other news articles, at other occasions, to indicate the seriousness of the Delhi’s water crisis, the articles can be seen here and here.
When BJP leader Vijay Goel has shared the same image of people surrounding a water tank in Delhi and accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of ignoring a water crisis in the national capital, the AAP replied to his tweet by sharing a screenshot of the original 2009 article, which carried the photograph.
Vijay Goel Ji,
Are you nostalgic that you're sharing photos from 2009, or was it a deliberate attempt to defame Kejriwal Govt? pic.twitter.com/KoOQASHQRp
However, the Hindustan Times reported that there are more than 5,000 houses in Sanjay Colony area and the struggle for water has been present for over 30 years and the locals say they have tried implementing bore wells in the area but the results remained unsatisfactory. LG Anil Baijal called for a detailed report from the Delhi Jal Board on the water crisis in the city amid complaints of water shortage in the national capital.
To sum it up, old photo from 2009 is shared as that depicting the current situation in Delhi amid complaints of water shortage in the national capital.