Update (23 January 2024): The same video is being circulated, purportedly showing Nepalis from Janakpur arriving in Ayodhya with gifts for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Consecration ceremony. However, as debunked below, these visuals do not depict Nepalis journeying to the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. Visuals of Nepali people traveling to Ayodhya and sending gifts can be viewed here, here and here.
In view of the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya that is scheduled for 22 January 2024, Kalash Yatras are being held in various cities nationwide (here). Against this backdrop, a video depicting a large procession is being shared claiming to show Akshat Kalash Yatra organized in Hyderabad. This article aims to fact-check the authenticity of the video and its connection to the claimed event.
Claim: Visuals depicting Akshat Kalash Yatra held in Hyderabad.
Fact: These visuals are associated with a Kalash Yatra arranged in Greater Noida before the Bhagwat Katha conducted by Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri back in July 2023. There are no reports of any Kalash Yatra organized in Hyderabad in connection with the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The video that is currently viral does capture a Kalash Yatra, but it is not held in Hyderabad, and this procession is unrelated to the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. A reverse image search on screenshots from this video led us to multiple news articles that reported similar visuals back in July 2023.
As per these reports, these visuals show a Kalash Yatra held in Greater Noida before the Bhagwat Katha conducted by Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, famously known as Bageshwar Baba.
A further search yielded a video of the Kalash Yatra arranged in Greater Noida on the official YouTube channel of Bageshwar Dham, uploaded on 09 July 2023. This video featured visuals resembling those in the viral footage.
Additional news articles covering the Kalash Yatra in Greater Noida in July 2023 can be viewed here and here. Moreover, we could not find any reports of any Kalash Yatra organized in Hyderabad in connection with the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Thus, all these findings confirm that the viral footage does not originate from Hyderabad and the procession is unrelated to the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
To sum it up, old footage of Kalash Yatra held in Greater Noida is incorrectly shared as having taken place in Hyderabad
