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| - After the recently concluded 2025 Delhi elections, a video is being circulated on the internet to claim that it shows Yamuna aarti being performed in the state for the first time.
What did the viral post say?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium subscriber shared the clip with a caption that loosely translated to, "Today for the first time Yamuna ji's Aarti was seen in Delhi.... Now Delhi will soon become Indraprastha!!."
What are the facts?: The Delhi government, led by former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, performed Yamuna aarti in 2015.
The viral clip shows aarti being performed at the Vasudev Ghat in Delhi, where it has been regularly offered since the ghat's inauguration by Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena in 2024.
What led us to the truth?: On conducting a keyword search on Google, we came across a news report published by The Times of India on 9 November 2015.
It said that the Delhi government was going to hold its "first-ever" Yamuna Aarti at the Kudesia Ghat on 13 November 2015.
The move came as part of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's initiative towards promoting tourism and cleaning the river.
Aaj Tak's official YouTube channel shared visuals from the event, which showed the then CM Arvind Kejriwal performing aarti as well.
The clip was published on 14 November 2015 with a title that said, "Kejriwal Government Starts 'Yamuna Aarti' In Delhi."
Vasudev Ghat inaugurated in 2024: Next, we performed another keyword search with the phrases "delhi aarti yamuna" and found a report by Hindustan Times on 13 March 2024.
The report mentioned that LG VK Saxena had inaugurated the Vasudev Ghat with aarti, which was located along the western bank of the Yamuna River.
The ghat was built by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
A report by Navbharat Times added that aarti would be performed at the ghat every Tuesday and Sunday.
Taking the information as a clue, we looked for visuals of aarti being performed at the ghat.
This directed us to a video posted on a YouTube channel named 'Abhishek Vashisth Travel Vlogs' on 18 May 2024.
Comparing visuals: Team WebQoof compared keyframes from the viral clip to the visuals seen in the YouTube video and found that both of them were filmed at the same location.
This evidence proved that Yamuna aarti was being performed at the ghat since 2024 and is not a recent event as claimed.
Conclusion: While we could not decide when the viral clip was filmed, it is clear that Yamuna aarti has been regularly performed in Delhi since 2024.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
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