Thousands of people across the country on Sunday responded enthusiastically to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'diya jalao' appeal, to mark the solidarity with India’s effort against the spread of coronavirus. In the meantime, PM Modi himself turned lit the earthen lamps (diyas) at his residence in Delhi.
Wearing traditional blue Kurta, Dhoti, and a stole, PM Modi turned off all the lights of his residence and lit the lamps. He also tweeted his photo while lighting up the lamps. In a tweet, he also quoted a Sanskrit verse to describe the occasion.
Take a look:
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also turned off the lights of their residents and lit the earthen lamps (diyas).
Also, chief ministers of several states including Yogi Adityanath, K Chandrashekar Rao, and others lit the earthen lamps in a bid to express solidarity with the nation's effort against the spread of coronavirus.
On the other hand, Images and videos are pouring from the residential complexes in major metro cities such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad among others, following PM Modi’s call, as people were seen standing on their balconies with candles and 'diyas' in their hands. There were bhajans and sounds of 'conch' being blown as well, However, some people were even bursting crackers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged the nation to turn off lights for 9 minutes on Sunday and lit diyas, candles or mobile flashlights with an aim to bring the entire nation together in fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak. PM Modi, who addressed the nation on Thursday, appealed to every Indian: "On April 5, Sunday, at 9 pm, I want 9 minutes from all of you. Turn off all the lights in your homes, stand at your doors or balconies and light candles, diya (lamp) or mobile flashlights for 9 minutes."
"No one is alone during the lockdown, the collective superpower of 130 crore Indians is with every citizen," he added.
Also Read: Coronavirus: 'Mini Diwali In April' As India Turns Off Lights At 9 PM On PM Modi's Solidarity Call Against COVID-19
On March 24, Modi announced a 21-day lockdown across the country from March 25 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, asserting that social distancing was the only way to deal with the deadly virus.
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