Millions respond to Modi's appeal; light candles, diyas

TNN Bureau. Updated: 4/6/2020 10:02:54 AM Front Page

NEW DELHI: Millions of Indians across the country switched off lights at their homes and lit candles and diyas or turned on mobile phone torches on Sunday night, responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to show the nation's "collective resolve and solidarity" in its fight against coronavirus with this symbolic gesture.
Much before the designated time of 9 pm, people turned off lights at their homes while lamps and candles lit up the streets as people stood in their balconies and at entrance doors in unison. Fireworks, sounds from beating of thalis, conches, whistles and police sirens were heard.
At many places the air resonated with the sounds of devotional songs, mantras and national anthem, in scenes similar to the ones seen across the country on March 22 when Modi had sought to rally Indians by asking them to come out briefly at 5 pm to show gratitude to health and other essential service providers.
President Ram Nath Kovind along with wife Savita, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and his wife Ushamma, several Union ministers including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, BJP patriarch L K Advani and prominent personalities from various fields including Bollywood too lighted diyas and candles.
Modi, who had on Friday urged people to turn off lights at their homes for nine minutes at 9pm to display the country's collective resolve and solidarity to defeat the virus, posted on Twitter his own pictures of lighting lamp.
People continued to stay outside while maintaining social distancing much beyond the nine minutes. In some pockets, Diwali seemed to have arrived months earlier.
The Prime Minister had asked people to clap or beat thalis on March 22 for five minutes at 5pm while observing 'janta curfew' from 7am to 9pm to thank those working in essentials services, and had received an unprecedented and overwhelming response.
The nine-minute lights-out event on Sunday evening went off well without any disruption in the electricity grid after the government and utilities put in place elaborate plans to deal with the sudden drop and then a quick spurt in demand.
Several opposition leaders had expressed concern that the event could result in grid collapse.
India has been on a 21-day lockdown from March 25 to check the spread of coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 65,000 lives globally and inflicted over 12 lakh people since the pandemic first emerged in China in December.


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