With the festive season started in India now, Ayodhya is gearing up to witness yet another grand Deepotsav, the preparations for which have started in the city. As per the plan, 24 lakh 'diyas' (earthen lamps) will be lit on Ram ki Pairi along with the organisation of light and sound show on the eve of Diwali, the officials said.
"On November 11, 24 lakh lamps will be lit on Ram Ki Pairi at the banks of river Saryu. On this Deepotsav, Ayodhya will witness a grand light and sound show to be staged on daily basis from November 11 at Ram ki Pairi. There will be two shows every day according to the programme proposed by the Tourism Department," Ayodhya District Magistrate Nitish Kumar said.
“The light and sound show has been given to a government agency - Uttar Pradesh Project Corporation Limited. Two steel columns will be erected with a height of about 65 feet, and a curtain will be placed in between,” he added further detailing the plan.
According to the official, the light and sound shows are being organised at Ram Ki Pairi at a cost of Rs 20 crore. Ramayan-based movies will be shown in this show, which will run after Saryu Aarti, he said.
"This programme of light and sound shows will be held for two hours in the evening, which will be free for all," Kumar said.
Deepotsav in Ayodhya
This year's Deepotsav comes just before Ram Lalla is enthroned at the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Temple scheduled early next year.
The Yogi Adityanath government has been organising Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya on the eve of Diwali every year since it came to power in March 2017.
Beginning with 51,000 diyas in 2017, the number went up to 4.10 lakh in 2019, over 6 lakh in 2020 and more than 9 lakh in 2021, setting a Guinness World Record.
In 2022, more than 17 lakh diyas were lit across ghats of Ram ki Pairi, but the Guinness Book of World Records only took those diyas into consideration which remained lit for five minutes or more and the record was 15.
76 lakh.
(With PTI inputs)
