Fact Check: Image of waterlogged Bangladesh street passed off as recent photo from Kolkata
A photo of a waterlogged street has gone viral on social media with the claim that it is from Kolkata after the recent heavy rains.
By Tejal Sinha Published on 4 July 2021 2:05 PM GMT
Hyderabad: A photo of a waterlogged street has gone viral on social media with the claim that it is from Kolkata after the recent heavy rains. The photo shows people commuting in boats on a waterlogged street which is also crowded with other vehicles.
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Fact Check
The claim is false.
NewsMeter performed a Google reverse image search and found a report by bdnews 24, an online newspaper from Bangladesh, from 1 June 2018. According to the website, "Pedestrians faced huge sufferings due to waterlogging on Rokeya Sarani at Kazipara in Dhaka's Mirpur after rains on Thursday morning with the Metrorail work under way."
We also found a report on the website 'observebd' titled, "Metro Rail authorities responsible for Mirpur waterlogging". It was published on 16 June 2021.
The report said Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Atiqul Islam had alleged that "rain-driven water-logging was created at Mirpur for clogging of drains due to the negligence of the authorities of ongoing Metro Rail Project" (sic).
It appears that like the locals of Mirpur are still been facing waterlogging issues in their area due to the Metro rail works.
It is therefore evident that the viral image is from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and not from Kolkata. Also, the viral image is old.
