Picture of Punjab CM climbing electricity pole dates back to 2016
A picture of a man climbing an electricity pole is viral on social media. Users claim that Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi helped restore
By Newsmeter Network Published on 23 Oct 2021 7:30 AM GMT
HYDERABAD: A picture of a man climbing an electricity pole is viral on social media. Users claim that Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi helped restore electricity in Kurali, Punjab. It is being claimed that this incident took place after Channi became the chief minister of Punjab.
"Punjab CM Sh. Charanjit Channi got complaints from the people of Kurali. Channi came to know that electricity in the area was cut over the nonpayment of electricity bills by poor people. Channi went to the place and himself climbed the poll and restored electricity (sic)," reads the message.
FACT CHECK:
The claim that this incident took place after Channi became chief minister of Punjab is false.
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found the same picture in a 2016 report by 'The Tribune'. It states that in July 2016, Channi had climbed an electricity pole and restored power supply to the waterworks of Sihon Majra village (Punjab).
During that year, Channi was the leader of the Congress Legislature Party. The caption of the image in the report reads, "CLP leader Charanjit Singh Channi today climbed an electricity pole and restored power supply to the waterworks of Sihon Majra village here."
The incident was also reported by The Hindustan Times and The Times of India. Channi had "threatened to disconnect water and power supply to the residence of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal in case the government disconnects the electricity to any village waterworks due to nonpayment of bills".
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) was set to take action against Channi who climbed the pole to reconnect the disconnected power supply.
Clearly, the incident took place in 2016. Channi only became the Chief Minister of Punjab on September 20 this year. Moreover, NewsMeter couldn't find any recent report of Channi restoring electricity as claimed in the viral post.
