An image of a truck carrying idols of Lord Ganesh has gone viral on social media. Many social media users are sharing the image to claim that the image of idols of Lord Ganesh being carried in a garbage truck post-Ganesh Chaturthi festival is from Tamil Nadu.
The image is shared with a caption that reads in Tamil as, “நெஞ்சு துடிக்குது_ஹிந்துக்களே நாம் வழிபடும் விநாயகர் சிலைகள் குப்பைகளுக்கு சமமாக …குப்பை லாரிகளில்….*__பறிமுதல் செய்யப்பட்ட விநாயகர் சிலைகளை குப்பை லாரியில் ஏற்றிச் சென்ற அவலம்…__500 1000 க்கும் பிச்சை எடுத்து வாக்களித்த சூடு சுரணை இல்லாத இந்துக்களுக்கு_சமர்ப்பணம்__*காலங்காலமாக இருந்து வந்த கடவுள் நம்பிக்கையை அழித்தொழிக்கும் இந்த செயலை செய்யும் அனைவருக்கும் பாவத்தில் பங்கு உண்டு*_கர்மா உண்டு மறவாதிர்கள்,…ஓம் கணபதி போற்றி போற்றி…” (English Translation as done by Google, “My heart is beating _Hindus, the Ganesh statues we worship are equal to garbage… in garbage trucks….*__ The tragedy of carrying the confiscated Ganesh statues in a garbage truck…__ 500 To the Hindus who voted begging for 1000 and without heat_ Dedicated __* All those who do this act which busts the faith of God since ages have a part in sin *_ Karma is there and do not forget,… Om Ganapathi hail hail.”
Source: Screenshot/Facebook
The link to the post can be seen here and its archive can be seen here.
Source:Screenshot/Facebook
The link to the post can be seen here and its archive can be seen here.
Source: Screenshot/Facebook
The link to the post can be seen here and its archive can be seen here.
FactO Check:
On doing a simple Google Reverse Image Search, we found that the same image was uploaded by a website named Gulte Desk on September 08, 2021. The report associated with the image claimed that the viral image is of Andhra Pradesh. The title of the report read, “Ganesh Idols In Garbage Van, AP Govt does damage control.”
Source: Screenshot/GulteDesk
Taking a hint from the above post, we searched with keywords, “Ganesh idol, garbage truck’ and found the report was also published by The Times of India on September 8, 2021. According to the report the incident took place in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, where the state government had prohibited setting up of Ganesh pandals. Police were taking action against artisans who were selling large Ganesh idols at roadside stalls.
A few artisans were selling the idols at Gorantla road in Guntur when officials seized the idols and tried to shift them in a tractor used to collect garbage. A video of the incident in which some activists of Hindu outfits were opposing the act and asking Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) officials to not place idols in the truck also went viral on social media. The protest resulted in suspension of sanitary workers by GMC commission C Anuradha.
Source: Screenshot/ToI
The New Indian Express had also reported about the incident on September 8, 2021.
Conclusion: We can conclude that the viral image of Ganesh idols loaded in a garbage truck is of Andhra Pradesh’s, Guntur district and not Tamil Nadu. Thus, the viral claim is misleading.
