Uttar Pradesh government will be hosting seventh Deepotsav in Ayodhya from November 9 to 11 in which 21 lakh earthen diyas will be lit at 51 ghats to break a world record. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called this event as “a rehearsal before the grand opening of the Ram temple in January”.
The event will be a collective effort of 12 government departments and the district administration with the help of around 25,000 volunteers. This will be a chance to showcase Uttar Pradesh’s rich culture as various performances will be held afterwards and all of it will be displayed on the “country’s biggest” digital screen.
The annual event has been around for the last six years and last year, 2022, the state managed to lit 15 lakh diyas at the ghats of Ayodhya. This year, the volunteers will begin laying diyas at several ghats on November 8. To make the practice more organized and easy to count, these diyas will be grouped in around 12,500 blocks of approximately 196 diyas each.
According to Ayodhya District Magistrate Nitish Kumar, “The three-day event will start on November 11, but many events will continue for a week. There will be cultural events, apart from the lighting of lamps. Moreover, we will install the country’s biggest digital screen, the modalities for which is being decided. Even the light and sound show at Ram Ki Pauri, which will begin this Deepotsava, will be a regular feature for the tourists and pilgrims.”
According to officials, volunteers were recently educated on how to light diyas. The volunteers come from a variety of organizations, including 27 institutions and 19 intermediate colleges in Ayodhya and surrounding areas associated with Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University, the nodal body for lighting diyas.