Over 3 lakh diyas lit on banks of Saryu river in new world record

A new world record was set in the holy city of Ayodhya on the eve of Diwali Tuesday with over three lakh 'diyas' or earthen lamps lit up simultaneously on the banks of the Saryu river, officials said.

Rishi Nath, official adjudicator of the Guinness World Records, made the announcement that the record was created at the Deepotsav event on the ghats here.

"A total of 3,01,152 diyas were lit up simultaneously for a period of five minutes, which is a new record," Nath said in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook.

The target was to illuminate a total of 3.35 lakh diyas on both sides of ghats at Ram Ki Paidi here.

"It beat the earlier record set in Haryana in 2016, where at an event 1,50,009 diyas were lit," Nath said and hailed the new record as "phenomenal".