Authors
After a video of tourists seen flouting COVID-19 protocol in Uttarakhand’s Kempty Falls went viral on social media, a Twitter user shared a screenshot of it, attributing it to people of Delhi violating physical distancing norms.
Posted on 8 July, the user’s tweet read, “Namaskar Sir @narendramodi Ji , the way people especially of Delhi are abusing Covid protocol, it’s evident 3rd wave is knocking the door. Government must ensure that all major hospitals like Apollo, Fortis, Max, Naryana, CAH, Etc are equipped with oxygen plants.”
An archived version of the tweet can be viewed here.
Also Read: COVID-19 Vaccines Don’t Give People Magnetic Power, False Claims Viral Online
Fact Check / Verification
On doing a reverse image search of the screenshot in context, we found similar stock images shot at Kempty Falls, Uttarakhand under the “images” tab.
Taken from a different angle, the image on Dreamstime.com is captioned, “Tourists having fun and beating summer heat at Kempty Falls near the popular Indian hill station Mussoorie.”
We found another image of Kempty Falls on Agefotostock.com titled, “Tourists having fun in Kempty Falls, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India.”
The screenshot in the claim was taken from this video shared on Twitter with the caption, “With no #masks in sight, hundreds of tourists appeared to be #vacationing their ‘#pandemic’ troubles away at the Kempty falls in #Mussoorie.”
Soon after the video of unmasked tourists violating physical distancing norms went viral, news organisations including Jagran and Hindustan Times reported that the Uttarakhand government capped the limit of tourists to visit the Kempty Falls near Mussoorie.
“From now onwards, there would be a limit of 50 tourists who would be allowed to bathe at the waterfall for only 30 minutes. After the stipulated time, a hooter would be blown to signal the batch of tourists to come out. Once all of the 50 come out, the next batch of 50 would be allowed to go,” announced Iva Ashish Srivastava, District Magistrate, Tehri Garhwal, via Hindustan Times.
An official at the Uttarakhand Tourism office confirmed that the viral video of unmasked tourists at Kempty Falls near Mussoorie is recent. The official also said that DM Ashish Srivastava has indeed capped the tourist limit to 50 at the Falls with other rules to be followed.
Also Read: Six Months Old Image Showing Crowd Of People In Manali Viral As Recent
Conclusion
The image of unmasked tourists violating physical distancing norms is from Kempty Falls in Uttarakhand, not Delhi.
Result: Misleading
Our Sources
Agefotostock.com: https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/tourists-having-fun-in-kempty-falls-mussoorie-uttarakhand-india/PNM-pirm-20120516-st0001
Uttarakhand Tourism office: https://uttarakhandtourism.gov.in/
Twitter Post: https://twitter.com/InfobugI/status/1412806456613634049?s=20
Jagran English: https://english.jagran.com/india/day-after-viral-video-number-of-visitors-bathing-time-at-kempty-falls-capped-by-administration-details-10028971
Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/50-tourists-to-be-allowed-at-uttarakhand-s-kempty-falls-following-covid-violations-101625819070276.html
If you would like us to fact check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill the form.
