Fact Check: Viral video showing water gushing of a road is from Kerala and not Gujarat
After the onset of the monsoon, there have been several incidents of roads collapsing in various parts of the country. In the states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, etc., roads collapsed due to heavy rainfall
Claim :
A viral video shows water gushing out of a road, with a claim that it shows the development model of GujaratFact :
The video shows a pipeline that burst in Kerala in February 2024. It has no connection with rains and floods or with Gujarat.
After the onset of the monsoon, there have been several incidents of roads collapsing in various parts of the country. In the states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, etc., roads collapsed due to heavy rainfall. The roads newly built in Ayodhya also collapsed after rainfall.
These instances raised speculations among many about the development of the country. A video showing water gushing out from road like a fountain is in circulation on social media with the captions like “ये मोदी जी का विकास मॉडल हैं
Another user shared the same video with the caption “ये है #गुजरात मॉडल प्
The same video was posted on Instagram on March 2, 2024.
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The viral video is not from Gujarat, nor is it related to rainfall or floods in the country.
When we extracted the keyframes from the viral video and searched using reverse image search, we found a post on X by a user named Chicku Irshad, who posted the same video with the caption “Kerala's Japan-funded water supply project experienced a pipe burst, causing traffic disruption on the Kozhikode-Wayanad national highway at Kunnamangalam. Following the burst, the road ruptured, and the fountain hit the electric line, resulting in a significant accident. #viral”. This video was published on February 25, 2024.
The follow-up tweets on this tweet thread have more videos with the caption “KSEB officials promptly arrived and switched off the line. As the main road to Wayanad, the incident caused a substantial traffic jam in the area. Locals reported frequent pipeline bursts in the region.” #Kerala #India #Japan
Water jets from the damaged underground pipes could pose a danger to civilians and travelers. The responsible party for the destroyed property, potentially worth millions, remains unknown #AdaniPorts #Adani #
The bio of the X user states that he is a Journalist, freelancer @reuters, @ANI, and also an environmentalist.
It was also shared by a YouTube channel named Akhilraj K with the title Water supply Pipe burst in Calicut, Kunnamangalam- KWA distribution main bursts.
When searched further, we found an article published on the Malayalam news website Janam online, which states that the pipeline, which is part of the Japan drinking water project has burst on the national highway at the 10th mile of Kunnamangalam. Traffic on the national highway was disrupted after the pipe burst. The water in the pipe rose very high and the road collapsed. KSEB officials reached and plugged the opening as the water rose to the point of touching the power line. Kunnamangalam police also reached the spot and placed dividers nearby. The officials of the water authority did not reach the spot despite being informed about it, which led to protest by the locals.
Therefore, the viral video shows a pipe that burst in Kerala in February 2024. The claim is False.
