This video of a heavy traffic jam is from Pakistan, not Khandala - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 3, 2021
A video accompanied by a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that it is from Khandala. The post even claims that the traffic jam seen in the video is due to landslides and rain. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of traffic jam in Khandala.
Fact: The video is from Pakistan and not from Khandala in Maharashtra. To celebrate Eid-ul-Adha, many people flocked to Kaghan valley in Pakistan and got stuck in a heavy traffic jam. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video, a Twitter post with the same video was found. Posted on 25 June 2021, the tweet reads, ‘Situation at Balakot-Naran Road. Too many tourists heading towards the northern areas after EID.’ The name of the Twitter handle is ‘Destination Pakistan’, which according to their account, posts “scenic places” from Pakistan.
Situation at Balakot-Naran Road. Too many tourists heading towards the northern areas after EID. pic.twitter.com/9z2vecC3yJ
Taking cue that this video could be from Pakistan, we searched Google with relevant keywords. A YouTube video published by Pakistan-based ‘ARY’ news channel was found with similar visuals. According to the video report, the visuals were of traffic jams at Kaghan valley in Pakistan. Couple of similar videos were found (here and here) reporting the same incident.
Many vehicles were stuck in a heavy traffic jam on the way to Kaghan Valley in Pakistan to celebrate Eid-ul-Adha. The news articles reported on this huge traffic jam can be seen here and here. Therefore, the traffic jam was not due to landslides or rain.
FACTLY had earlier debunked a similar video when it was shared as if it happened in Himachal Pradesh.
To sum it up, this video of a heavy traffic jam is from Pakistan, not Khandala.