Indians light diyas, candles, turn on mobile phone torches in response to PM's appeal

Indians light diyas, candles, turn on mobile phone torches in response to PMs appeal
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Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao lighting diyas at his camp office in Hyderabad on Sunday
Highlights

As the clock struck 9 pm millions across the country switched off lights for 9 minutes, lit diyas, turned on mobile phone torches and the played the song “Subham Kurutvam Kalyanam, Arogyam Dhana Sampadah…” to show the nation’s collective resolve and solidarity in its fight against coronavirus.

Hyderabad: As the clock struck 9 pm millions across the country switched off lights for 9 minutes, lit diyas, turned on mobile phone torches and the played the song "Subham Kurutvam Kalyanam, Arogyam Dhana Sampadah…" to show the nation's collective resolve and solidarity in its fight against coronavirus.

People gathered in balconies and at doors, flashing mobile lights while many lit candles and diyas. Fireworks, thalis, whistles and police sirens were heard.

At some places, Hindu devotional songs, mantras and national anthem were also played.

Modi had on Friday urged people to turn off lights at their homes for nine minutes at 9 pm to display the country's collective resolve and solidarity to defeat the virus.

President of India Ramnath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Sounderarajan, Chief Ministers of the two Telugu states K Chandrashekar Rao and Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, film personalities also participated in the Deepa Yagnam.

At Isha in Coimbatore special arrangements were made to light the lamps under the supervision of Sadhguru.

This is the second time Prime Minister Modi has sought to rally people amid the ongoing lockdown to combat the pandemic, which has claimed more than 65,600 lives globally and inflicted over 12 lakh people.

You may be alone at home but 130 crore people are with you, he had said while making the appeal to fuse a sense of unity and purpose among people during the ongoing lockdown.

This assumes importance as the overall death toll in the country due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 83 and the cases climbed to 3,577 on Sunday after 505 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry.

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 while more that 12,00,000 declared cases have been registered in 190 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December.

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