Old Video of Waterlogging in Delhi Falsely Linked to Chennai Rains

We could trace the video back to September at least and found that it's from Delhi's Sadar Bazar and not Chennai.

An old video from Delhi's Sadar Bazar area is being falsely linked to the ongoing rainfall in Tamil Nadu's Chennai.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Amid the incessant rainfall in several parts of Tamil Nadu, a video showing a waterlogged area with vehicles being submerged in water and dirt flowing all across the road, is being shared on social media claiming that it's a recent video from Chennai.

However, we could trace the video back to at least September and found that it's from Old Delhi's Sadar Bazar area and not Chennai, as claimed.

CLAIM

Twitter handle 'Kreatly.in' that has been called out for sharing and peddling disinformation in the past, shared the visuals with the text, "Chennai is suffering due to decades of political corruption. Lamestream media won't cover as DMK rules TN. Sad. (sic)"

You can view the archived version here.

(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

Several social media users shared the video on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube claiming that the visuals show 'Floating market' of Chennai and the archived version of the posts can be viewed here, here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

On carefully looking at the video in question, we noticed a hoarding that read: 'NECC, North Eastern Carrying Corporation Ltd, Delhi'.

One can see 'NECC' written in a hoarding in the viral video.

(Photo: Facebook/ Altered by The Quint)

The website of NECC mentioned the address of its corporate office as: 'NECC HOUSE, 9062/47, Ram Bagh Road, Azad Market, Delhi.' It is pertinent to note that this area is located near Delhi's Sadar Bazar.

VIRAL VISUALS TRACED BACK TO SEPTEMBER AT LEAST

Taking a cue from here, we searched on Twitter using relevant keywords and came across videos from September that showed similar visuals and suggested that they are from Delhi's Sadar Bazar area.

On comparing these visuals with the viral video, we found several similarities.

Left: Viral video. Right: September video.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Left: Viral video. Right: September video.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

VIDEO IS FROM DELHI, NOT CHENNAI

Next, we came across a tweet shared by a journalist Abhinav Rajput in 2020 that showed the condition of Sadar Bazar area after a downpour. One of the visuals in the tweet helped us in finding several similar elements in visuals seen in the viral video.

Left: Viral video. Right: Image of Sadar Bazar.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Further, we also compared the visual of Sadar Bazar area with the ones seen in the video shared in September and found that a shop called 'SS Traders' was a common feature in both.

Left: September video. Right: Image of Sadar Bazar.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Also, while navigating on Google maps, we found that the shop 'SS Traders' and NECC office are located at a distance of two minutes.

'SS Traders' and NECC office in Delhi are located at a distance of two minutes.

(Source: Google Maps)

Meanwhile, media outlet CNN-News18 had carried similar visuals in a bulletin on waterlogging in Sadar Bazar area that was uploaded on 1 September.

While we haven't been able to independently verify the exact date of the viral video, however, we have been able to establish that it's an old video that could be traced back to September at least and is from New Delhi and not Chennai, as claimed.

However, it must be noted that due to incessant rainfall, several areas in Chennai have faced severe waterlogging leading to loss of life and property.

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