NEW DELHI: A family from Rajasthan who received criticism online after a video showed them eating a leisurely meal on a highway has revealed the real story behind the viral clip of the picnic.
The video showed around 20 to 25 people sitting together and having a meal beside National Highway 27 in Rajasthan. As the clip spread across social media, several users claimed that the group had occupied the highway to eat, prompting criticism over the alleged misuse of public infrastructure.
However, when Aaj Tak traced the video and spoke to the person who had recorded it, the picture turned out to be different.
Shiv Prakash, a resident of Chittorgarh, said he had gone to Menal Waterfall with his family on August 12, on the occasion of Hariyali Amavasya. While returning towards Chittorgarh, the group stopped at a designated parking and rest area along NH-27 to have a meal.
The group, which consisted of around 20 to 25 family members, had parked their vehicle on the left side of the highway before sitting down to eat.
Shiv Prakash clarified that they remained there for only around 15 minutes and did not sit on or block the main carriageway.
He had recorded the gathering while the family was eating and later uploaded the video on social media. The clip subsequently spread beyond its original context, with claims suggesting that the family had turned the highway itself into a picnic spot.
But the location shown in the video was not the middle of the highway, as some social media posts had suggested.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Udaipur Project Director Anil Chaudhary also clarified that the video had been recorded on the Kota-Chittorgarh highway and that the people shown in it were sitting in the designated parking area.
He clarified that the spot had specifically been created to provide a place for people to stop and rest, while also serving as a parking area for trucks.
Shiv Prakash said the outing had been part of a family tradition associated with Hariyali Amavasya in the Mewar region, when families commonly headed out together for picnics and outings
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