Ashok Gehlot never said generating hydroelectricity makes water useless for farming
A video of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot saying that water becomes useless for farming after it is used to generate electricity is doing the rounds on social media.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 10 Dec 2022 10:01 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A video of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot saying that water becomes useless for farming after it is used to generate electricity is doing the rounds on social media.
In the viral video, Mr. Gehlot can be heard saying in Hindi, "They are building a dam and power plant. When electricity is removed from the water and the water goes to the farm, such water will have no energy and will be useless in the farm." (Translated)
The video was shared by an Instagram user.
Click here to see the post.
Fact Check
NewsMeter ran a keyword search and found a 2018 article by Hindustan Times that said the viral video is edited, and it shows only a few seconds from a press conference of Mr. Gehlot. It also said that after the video went viral, Mr. Gehlot posted a full clip of the press conference on Twitter. This clip showed Mr. Gehlot saying, "I remember in my childhood when there was Jan Sangh and Bhakra Dam was being made, these (Jan Sangh) people used to publicise and pester Nehru that he is making a dam and build powerhouse…and when electricity will be removed from the water and the water goes to the farm, such water will have no energy and will be useless in the farm."
Further, we found that Mr. Gehlot had tweeted the full clip on 5 June 2018 and said this was the original unedited video. In this clip, he is speaking about Jan Sangh's criticism of Pandit Nehru building the Bakhra dam and producing electricity. In the viral clip, the reference to Jan Sangh's criticism of Pandit Nehru building dams to produce electricity has been trimmed.
We also found an extended version of the viral video posted on the official Facebook page of Ashok Gehlot on 26 May 2018. In this video, the viral clip appears around the 3.7-minute mark after the reference to Jan Sangh's criticism of Pandit Nehru.
It is evident that the viral video is edited. Ashok Gehlot never said that when electricity is produced from water, it loses energy and becomes useless for farming. Hence, the claim is misleading.
