This Viral Photo is Altered & the original Image is Also NOT from Tamil Nadu.

A photo is being shared on social media circles claiming to be the scenes of water scarcity in Adhyar, India. The photo shows three women who have long rows of water jugs on their heads. However, what is the story behind this eye-catching photograph, and is it really from India? Let’s look at the claim in detail.

Social Media Posts

A photo of three women balancing long queues of steel jugs on their heads and walking in a sandy, desert-like environment drew the attention of many social media users. The photo description attributed the scene to being captured during a hot summer in Adyar, India when these women were on their way to collect water located many miles away.

Facebook | Archived

This photo and the accompanying narration went viral on Facebook.

We decided to investigate this.

Fact Check

First, we did a reverse image search to find the origins of this viral image. We noticed that the image had been shared for years as a meme, often associated with Rajasthan, India.

Using further keyword searches, we found that the viral image was used on several travel websites related to Rajasthan. Also, the viral photo was, in fact, not an original photograph but an altered version.

Original image published on several travel blogs like cityshore.com that contained the three ladies seen in the viral image. However, there were a few other ladies as well in the original photo stated to be from Samod, Rajasthan, as seen below.

Web | Archived

In the original image, the women have baskets and tools on their heads, implying that the scene was related to these ladies returning or going to work. The three women in the front (leftmost) are cropped, and the background is replaced to imply that they were walking in a desert-like environment with pots on their heads to collect water.

Below is a comparison between the edited and original images.

However, the images of women carrying water pots on their heads in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, is quite a famous sight, where the public goes through enormous hardships to source drinking water. Also, we did not come across any city called Adyar in or around Rajasthan.

We then tried to track the location(Adyar) mentioned in the viral posts. Located in South Chennai, Tamil Nadu, the large town of Adyar is on the southern banks of the Adyar River. Our Factcrescendo Tamil editor, who has lived in the city of Adyar also in the past, confirmed that there wasn't any desert area in Adyar, and the style of dressing clearly links the viral image to North India and not to Tamil Nadu.

Women standing in long queues carrying plastic jugs is not a rare sight in Chennai, as seen here. However, the style of dressing in Chennai and Tamil Nadu ladies is much different from that of northern Indian states like Rajasthan.

At the same time, it's important to note that even though Chennai is blessed with several rivers, the metro city and surrounding areas like Adyar face severe water scarcity issues almost every year. In fact, Chennai is among the most water-vulnerable mega-cities!

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Conclusion

Based on available information, news, and pictures, it is clear that the viral image is not from Adyar in Tamil Nadu but from Samod, Rajasthan. The original photo appeared in a travel blog related to Rajasthan. The viral image is created by cropping and replacing the background of the original image with a desert-like surrounding and adding long series of pots on the heads of three ladies.

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