Old video shared as visuals of Haridwar Kumbh Mela devotees violating the COVID-19 restrictions - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 20, 2021
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of Kumbh Mela devotees, violating the COVID-19 restrictions at Haridwar city in Uttarakhand. In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in Haridwar, this post questions the mainstream media channels for not highlighting the worst consequences of Haridwar Kumbh Mela. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Haridwar Kumbh Mela devotees violating the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Government of India.
Fact:  The video shared in the post exists on the internet at least since March 2019. This video is an old one and has nothing to do with the ongoing Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse search of the screenshots shared in the video, similar videos were found published on social media at least since March 2019. A user shared the same video on his Facebook page on 11 March 2019, with the title ‘Kumbh Mela Naga Sadhu’.
A video with similar visuals was uploaded on YouTube on 10 March 2019. In the description of the video, it is mentioned to be from Kumbh Mela.
2019 Kumbh Mela was celebrated from 15 January to 04 March 2019 at Prayagraj city in Uttar Pradesh. Though we could not ascertain if this video is actually related to the 2019 Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, it can be concluded that this video is an old one and not related to the ongoing Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
Lakhs of devotees and sadhus gathering at Haridwar to offer prayers during the 2021 Kumbh Mela. Several Devotees reportedly were seen without wearing masks, flouting the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Government of India. It is in this context that videos such as the one in this article are being shared.
To sum it up, an old video is being shared as visuals of Haridwar Kumbh Mela devotees violating the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Government of India.