Over 5.5 lakh diyas lit for Ayodhya 'Deepotsav', event enters Guinness Records

The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday broke its own Guinness World Record for the largest display of oil lamps by lighting a total of 5.5 lakh diyas or earthen lamps in Ayodhya.

The tourism department of the state government in collaboration with a university broke the record for "the largest display of oil lamps" made in 2018 when 3.51 lakh earthen diyas were lit as part of the grand "Deeptosav" celebration on the occasion of Diwali.

"The largest display of oil lamps was achieved by department of tourism, government of Uttar Pradesh and Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya Awadh University (both India) during Deepotsav 2019 in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India on October 29, 2019," reads the Guinness certificate reads.

The Guinness World Record termed the event as "amazing".

The third grand "Deeptosav" celebration in Ayodhya, organised by the UP government, will cost more than Rs 130 crore, according to a state government official.

Earlier today, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development projects worth Rs 226-crore in the temple town.

Addressing a gathering later as part of "Deepotsav", Yogi said previous heads of the state used to be scared to come to Ayodhya but he has visited at least several times during his tenure.

"We are trying to build the kind of Ayodhya that Lord Rama had envisioned," the chief minister said.

Diwali is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.