| schema:text
| - Fact Check: Somnath temple video shared as first glimpse of Kashi Vishwanath after renovation
A video of an illuminated temple is circulating on social media with the claim that it shows the first glimpse of Kashi Vishwanath temple after renovation. India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
This is the Somnath temple in Gujarat. No major renovation has been done on the Kashi Vishwanath temple itself, but the surrounding areas will have a brand new look. The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is due to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month.
The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is due to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month. The massive renovation project will change the face of the ancient city of Varanasi, with encroachments cleared and several amenities in the offing for devotees.
In this context, a video of an illuminated temple is circulating on social media with the claim that it shows the first glimpse of Kashi Vishwanath temple after renovation. A screen grab of one such video posted on Twitter can be seen below.
The archived versions of the posts can be seen here and here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. The video is of the Somnath temple in Gujarat.
AFWA probe
Several social media users have commented below the viral video that it is not Kashi Vishwanath but Somnath temple. Taking this as a clue, we did a reverse search of keyframes of the video and found the same clip uploaded on an Instagram page in March 2021.
This confirmed that the video is old and not recent. Also, according to this post, the video is of Somnath temple.
advertisement
We then shared the viral video with Dhruv Joshi, the spokesperson of Somnath temple, who confirmed that the clip is indeed of Somnath temple.
“This video is of our Somnath temple. We cannot say exactly when the video was shot because every day around 7 pm, we illuminate the temple with lights and the temple looks the same as seen in the video,” Joshi said.
A comparison between the viral video and video of Somnath temple uploaded on the temple’s official Twitter handle also confirmed that the viral clip is of Somnath temple.
We also contacted Sunil Verma, the CEO of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust, who confirmed that no major changes have been done on the main temple as part of the renovation drive.
“We haven’t done any major renovation on the main temple or the sanctum sanctorum. The viral video has nothing to do with Kashi Vishwanath temple,” Verma said.
The latest image of the main temple clicked on November 15 by India Today’s Varanasi correspondent can be seen below.
According to a recent report by “Hindustan Times”, around 24 buildings, including a cafeteria, food court, library, gallery, tourist centre and multi-purpose hall, have been constructed along the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, and finishing touches are being given for the inauguration scheduled on December 13.
The foundation for the project was laid by PM Modi on March 8, 2019. Upon completion, it will develop and beautify the areas around Kashi Vishwanath temple, and even provide a direct view of the Ganges from the temple compound.
However, the video circulating on social media does not show the renovated Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is an illuminated Somnath temple in Gujarat.
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)