Lamps and candles were lit, torches and cell phones were switched on and flashed from balconies. Families switched off lights in their homes and apartment complexes and came out of their homes with lighted candles and maintained a solemn silence.
Participating in the ‘Light a lamp at 9 pm for 9 minutes’ initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also supported by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, to express solidarity with the nation in the fight against coronavirus pandemic, at exactly 9 pm on Sunday night, families, individuals and communities across Hyderabad and Telangana came out enthusiastically to express their solidarity to the novel cause.
Several apartments were submerged in the darkness minutes before the scheduled time, and lamps and candles brightened the places when the clock struck 9. Women and children too seen holding diyas and standing up in front of houses and balconies. Police personnel deployed in the city streets to enforce the lockdown too held candles and joined the initiative.
From Ministers to senior officials to heads of departments, all joined the campaign that sought to show the country’s determination to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Large number of people took to social media platforms to showcase lit diyas and candles, and also sent the message that they were putting up a united front in the fight against the pandemic. Some enthusiastic crowd, especially youngsters, also burst firecrackers for a short period of time before going indoors.