From thousands of diyas at the banks of Sarayu river to children lighting firecrackers, here's how Uttar Pradesh celebrated Diwali on Wednesday.
The grand annual Deepotsav celebrations in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya district are in full swing with traditional fervour at Ram ki Paidi ghats. Celebrating the festival of lights in a grand way, the Uttar Pradesh lit 12 lakh earthen lamps, out of which, 9 lakh lamps have been lit on the banks of the Saryu. The rest three lakh are lit in parts of the town, which created a world record.
A fireworks show was also organised in Ayodhya as part of the Deepotsav celebration on the occasion of Diwali. Thousands of lamps were lit on the banks of the Saraya river to mark the occasion and a lazer show was held. Als the celebration was enlightened with a special show of 500 drones that will showcase Ramayan scenes in the sky.
Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that the Uttar Pradesh government will light 12 lakh earthen lamps, nine lakh of which will be lit on the banks of the Saryu, bettering the previous Diwali record.
Cultural groups from Sri Lanka and Nepal's Janakpur have been invited to stage the Ram Lila while a series of literary and cultural activities will be held from November 1 to 5. Meanwhile, teams from Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Gujarat, Assam, and West Bengal will also stage the epic mythology during the five-day-long celebrations.
CM Yogi Adityanath also performed Saryu Aarti on Ram ki Paidi ghat around 5:20 pm at the time of sunset. The local people of Ayodhya excitedly witnessed the grand event on the banks of River Saryu.