Image of monks violating social distancing rules at Ayodhya Ram Temple ceremony false

New Delhi : The laying of foundation stone ceremony for Ram Temple was done on August 5 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; amid coronavirus pandemic the guest list was limited to just 175 and social distancing protocols were followed strictly. 

However, since the ceremony, a picture of monks is being widely circulated on the internet with claims that the monks (Naga Sadhus) did not follow social distancing measures and attended the event in a large gathering.

In a Facebook post in Malayalam language, a claim has been made, "Yogi’s monks gathered for Ayodhya Ram mandir bhoomi pujan violating the Covid-19 precautionary measures."

News Heads tried to find the reality and the credibility of fact claimed in it. After making a reverse search on Google with the image, it has been found that this is an award-winning picture of monks from the Kumbh Mela in 2013 in Allahabad by travel photographer Thorge Berger.

The image is also available on the website of a Germany-based travel photographer, Thorge Berger.

According to the site, the image was clicked by Berger during the Kumbh Mela in 2013, one of the largest pilgrimage festivals in Hinduism in the world.

Interestingly, the same image was used by several website last year to represent the Kumbh Mela in India.

Kumbh Mela, in Hinduism, is a religious pilgrimage that is celebrated four times over a course of 12 years rotating between four different locations in India - Haridwar, Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), Nashik and Ujjain.

Hence, the claims made in recent viral posts that the monks attended the Ram Temple event like this are false.