A video allegedly showing Ayodhya Ram Mandir decorated with lights is being shared on social media. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: The viral video shows Ayodhya Ram Mandir decorated with lights.
Fact: The structure seen in the viral video is not the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. It is a Ram-Mandir-themed Durga Puja Pandal erected in Kolkata during the 2023 Durga Puja celebrations. The Ayodhya Ram-Mandir will be inaugurated on 22 January 2024. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To learn more about the viral video, we performed a reverse image search on a few of its keyframes, leading us to multiple similar videos (here, here, and here) uploaded across various social media platforms in October this year. A YouTube video uploaded on 18 October 2023 identified the location of this structure as ‘Santosh Mitra Square.’
Taking this as a hint, we performed a keyword search on the internet for more details on the viral clip, which led us to several news reports (here, here, and here) on this structure. Reportedly, this structure is a Durga Puja pandal erected in Kolkata’s Santosh Mitra Square. The theme of this pandal was the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Further, the Ram Temple of Ayodhya will be inaugurated on 22 January 2024, per news reports.
To sum up, a video of a Durga Puja Pandal in Kolkata is falsely shared as visuals of Ayodhya Ram Temple after the completion of electrical work.
