Catastrophic floods triggered by a glacial collapse in Nepal in late August 2026 swelled the Gandak river system flowing towards neighbouring India, prompting authorities in eastern Bihar to open all 36 gates of the Gandak barrage on August 26-27. But footage shared online does not show water being discharged from the barrage, contrary to the circulating claims. The person who filmed the footage told AFP it was recorded months earlier at a different dam in India's western Maharashtra state.
"This is the Gandak barrage in India's Bihar to control water from the massive floods caused by the collapse of glaciers in Nepal as they enter India through the Trishuli, Narayani, and Gandak river system," reads part of a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared on August 29, 2026.
The video shows a drone view of water flowing through the sluice gates of a massive dam.
"To control the huge flood from Nepal, Indian authorities have opened all 36 gates of the Gandak Barrage. As a result, the flood has been controlled to some extent, and the water level has gradually receded, causing less destruction in India than expected," the caption adds.
The video appeared in similar posts on Facebook days after a glacial collapse along the Nepal-Tibet border triggered massive floods downstream that killed at least 1,399 people, with more than 5,000 missing, including around 800 foreigners ( archived link).
Nepal held a national day of mourning with candlelight vigils on September 7. Flags flew at half-mast and hundreds of people gathered in the capital Kathmandu to remember the victims.
Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three workers deep inside tunnels -- two Nepalis on September 4 and a Chinese man on September 5 -- has buoyed hopes that more could still be alive.
Nepal's catastrophic floods also raised concerns in neighbouring India, which shares the Himalayan river system. As floodwaters flowed downstream from Nepal's Bhote Koshi river into the Trishuli and Narayani-Gandak river systems, authorities in Bihar prepared for potential flooding (archived here and here).
On August 26-27, Indian authorities opened all 36 gates of the Gandak barrage in Bihar's Valmikinagar district, which borders Nepal, as a precaution against flooding, evacuating more than 4,000 people from vulnerable areas ( archived link).
But the video shared in false posts actually shows a different dam in India's western Maharashtra state.
A combination of reverse image and keyword searches found a similar Instagram video published on August 3, 2026 ( archived link).
The account regularly shares videos from the same location, identifying it as Bhatghar dam (archived here and here).
A longer video posted by the same account on August 3, 2026 shows a person flying a drone over the reservoir at the same location ( archived link).
AFP contacted the account owner, Ashish Gaikwad, who confirmed he filmed the video in Pune district, Maharashtra.
"This video shows the Yesaji Kank reservoir, also known as Bhatghar dam," Gaikwad told AFP on September 7.
"I shot this video in July. I have not used any AI tools to enhance the video. I have shared many videos of the dam on my account," he added.
Satellite imagery of Bhatghar dam, located nearly 1,550 kilometres (963 miles) from the Nepal border, matches visual features seen in the circulating video ( archived link).
Google Maps imagery shows the Gandak barrage as a gated structure spanning the Gandak river, while Bhatghar dam is associated with a large reservoir (archived here and here).
AFP has previously debunked other false claims circulating in the aftermath of the catastrophic Nepal floods.