Coronavirus: Old video of crowded KR Market in Bengaluru shared as recent

A video of a crowded market is being widely shared on social media. The video has been shot from a high vantage point and shows people shopping. On July 31, Twitter user @Narendra_K1208 claimed that the video shows KR Market in Bengaluru. It was viewed 10,000 times as of this writing.

ಕೆಆರ್ ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆ🌹🥥😱👹🙈 #ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು KR Market #Bangalore today special #varalakshmivratam #VaraMahalakshmi #fridaymorning #FridayFeeling @BBMPCOMM @Jaggesh2 @ganeshbandla @MahelaJay @directorprems #Citymarket @raginidwivedi24 @ANI @ndtv @AlwaysRamCharan pic.twitter.com/hrrMevc7Rd

— Narendra_Krishnappa (@Narendra_K1208) July 31, 2020

Another Twitter user @SunithaNahar shared the video with the same claim. It was viewed more than 10,000 times before it was deleted. The clip is also circulating on Facebook.

Fact-check

After a keyword search on YouTube, we found that this video was indeed shot in KR market. Bengaluru. However, it is an old clip. On August 8 2019, a user named Farhan Rashid uploaded it on YouTube. Apart from this, One India Kannada shared this video before Varalakshmi Puja last year. The channel said that the video shows people shopping for the festival.

Women observe a fast for the puja where Hindu deity Lakshmi is worshipped. The video shows women shoppers in the market before the puja.

In 2019, Varalakshmi fast was held on August 9 and this video from KR market was uploaded on August 8 2019.

In 2020, the occasion fell on July 31, 2020. A report by TV9 Kannada from July 31 states that some more markets, including KR Market in Bengaluru, have been sealed due to the coronavirus epidemic.

A video of crowded KR market in Bengaluru was shared as recent thus, giving the impression that people came out in large numbers during COVID-19. However, the clip is from August last year.