Ayodhya: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday created a record of lighting diyas during Deepostav at Ayodhya.
Over 9 lakh diyas were lit and were kept burning for 45 minutes as Ayodhya retained its Guinness World Record for lighting oil lamps as part of the Diwali celebration.
“We had set a target to light 9 lakh oil lamps at one place to break the Guinness World Record and we have achieved that target,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said.
Last year, the city witnessed the record by lighting 606,569 diyas.
Yogi said that over 900,000 diyas were lit at Ram ki Pauri, on the banks of river Saryu. “Over 1.2 million lamps were lit across Ayodhya where people lit oil lamps at temples and at their shops to mark of Diwali celebration,” he said and added that this was possible only because of thousands of volunteers who toiled hard to ensure the success of this mission,” he said.
The government spokesman Shishir Kumar affirmed that the lamps set a record. Representatives from the Guinness World Records handed over the certificate to Yogi Adityanath, after monitoring the record with drone cameras.
Commissioner Ayodhya M P Singh said that over 12000 volunteers, majority of them college students worked tirelessly to ensure that lamps burn for the prescribed time so that we can break the Guinness record.
The administration had purchased over 10 lakh diyas, and over 3 lakh of which were cow dung lamps, from the local artisans.
The diyas, were placed at the steps of the river bank. Throwing the precaution of social distancing to the wind, lighting of lamps was carried out in 38 ghats. The lamps were also lit at the major temple, markets and other historic places of the city.
“It was a tough job. First, we drew the pattern with chalk and then placed diyas and filled it with oil. It was a back-breaking exercise but I loved it,” Shruti Sinha, an undergraduate student said.
Another student Anita Chauhan said: “We have been working for the last three days and have arranged the diyas (earthen lamps) in a systematic manner. Training was given to us as how to light the diyas without disturbing the symmetry.”
She said the big challenge for us was to ensure that these lamps glow for at least 45 minutes as this is mandatory for breaking the Guinness record. We ensured that oil was put continuously in these lamps so that these do not extinguish, Anita said.
Earlier, the scene of 'Tretayuga' came back to life again on Wednesday when Lord Ram, along with Sita and Laxman, touched the grounds on the ‘Pushpak Vimana’ after completing 14 years of exile. People waited with abated breath to welcome Lord Ram with the same zeal, devotion, and enthusiasm that the city would have witnessed when Ram returned after defeating Ravana.
Chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' kept on reverberating in the atmosphere with the 'Deepotsava' starting at its scheduled time.
The reception of these symbolic forms of Gods was attended by UP Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and other dignitaries including Ambassadors from Vietnam, Trinidad, and Tobago. The CM also offered prayers on behalf of the devotees after which the scenic reunion of Lord Ram and his brother Bharat took place bringing alive the memories of Lord Ram’s coronation ages ago amidst vedic chant.
The Chief Minister also bowed before 'Ram' and sought blessings for the people's welfare.
The CM, who arrived in Ayodhya for the Deepotsav, first went to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple and offered prayers for the welfare of the people. (UNI)
