Viral Video Of Family Meal On Rajasthan Highway Misrepresented. Here's Reality

A video that purportedly showed a family sitting on a national highway and having a meal in the middle of the road in Rajasthan was different from what was being claimed by netizens on social media.

The viral video triggered calls for a probe and raised questions about highway safety and the civic sense of people for allegedly turning a highway into a picnic spot.

Following the video's spread on social media, NDTV reached out to one of the family members who had posted it and found that the reality was different from what was being portrayed online.

Shiv Prakash, speaking to NDTV, said the video was recorded on August 12, on the occasion of Hariyali Amavasya. Shiv said he had gone to Menal Waterfalls with his family. While returning home to Chittorgarh, the family stopped at a lay-by on the highway for around 15 minutes.

According to Shiv, the family included children and elderly members, and it was raining heavily that day. It was around 4:30 pm and the family was hungry. They asked some local villagers whether there was a restaurant or another place where they could stop for food. The villagers told them about a lay-by on the highway where trucks usually park and where people also take rest.

Shiv said the family stopped at the lay-by for nearly 15 minutes to have food and immediately resumed their journey home. He said he had uploaded the video on his Instagram account, but people later misrepresented it and presented it as if the family was sitting in the middle of the highway.

After the video went viral, Shiv said he was forced to make his Instagram account private. He also clarified that the family had no intention of putting themselves or others in danger by sitting on the highway.

Shiv said it was an emergency-like situation as they were travelling with children and elderly family members, and everyone was hungry amid heavy rains.

He said they stopped only at the designated lay-by after being informed about it by local villagers.

However, the video has sparked controversy on social media, with several users criticising the family and raising questions about safety and civic responsibility on highways.