More than 2.1 million ‘diyas’ (earthen lamps) will illuminate Ayodhya on Saturday to celebrate ‘deepotsav’ ahead of the festival of light ‘diwali’ the following day.
With this attempt, the state government is looking to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by bettering its previous feat when 1.5 million diyas were lit in Ayodhya.
This year, 2.1 million diyas will be laid on the banks of Saryu river along 51 ghats in Ayodhya with the help of about 25,000 volunteers.
Meanwhile, a massive digital screen narrating Ayodhya’s religious heritage will also be set up for three days beginning this evening.
With a grandiose Lord Ram temple, being built in Ayodhya, expected to be consecrated at a mega event on January 22, 2024, the deepotsava has assumed greater significance this year.
In fact, deepotsav has been celebrated every year in Ayodhya ever since Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister of UP in March 2017.
To mark the important occasion, the Yogi cabinet held a meeting for the first time in the temple town yesterday and took several important decisions including one pertaining to Ayodhya.
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This is only the second time when the Yogi cabinet held a meeting away from the state capital of Lucknow. The previous such meeting was held at Prayagraj (Allahabad) during the Kumbh Mela in 2019.