<p>The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday went all out in marking the homecoming of Lord Ram to this holy town – the mythical event in 'treta yug' on which the festival of Diwali is based. Along the way, the organisers broke a world record.</p>.<p>As dusk fell, volunteers lit up over six lakh earthen lamps lined up on the Saryu riverbank.</p>.<p>A team from the Guinness World Records was present to see if it made it to their book. Hours later, team leader Nishchal Barot gave the final count as 6,06,569 `diyas’, telling PTI that it was “largest display of oil lamps” in the world.</p>.<p>An organiser said about 8,000 volunteers, drawn from a local college and NGOs, were involved in the feat.</p>.<p>The “Deepotsav” included the reenactment of the arrival of God Ram and Goddess Sita to Ayodhya on their 'pushpak viman', a laser and sound show and cultural programmes.</p>.<p>Actors representing the deities of Ram, Sita and Lakshman descended in a helicopter that sprinkled rose petals – a modern take on the ‘pushpak viman’ that brought Lord Ram back home after 14 years in exile.</p>.<p>The deities were received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.</p>.<p>This was the fourth annual Ayodhya Deepotsav, and the first since the ‘bhoomi pujan’ in August for a Ram temple in the city. Its construction has begun following last year’s Supreme Court verdict that settled the temple-mosque land dispute.</p>.<p>The CM and the Governor visited the Ram Mandir site along with other UP and some bureaucrats.</p>.<p>Adityanath gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi the credit for the just-begun construction of the Ram Mandir.</p>.<p>"Our generation is not only fortunate to see the start of construction of a Ram temple here but we also attended the historic event,” he said, adding that generations of seers died without the dream being realised.</p>.<p>“I thank PM Modi, who is the one who implemented the ideology of Ram Rajya," Adityanath said in his speech to about 1,000 guests at the Ram Katha Park.</p>.<p>With COVID-19 protocols in place, the event was not open to the public.</p>.<p>He said when people in Ayodhya used to ask him about the construction of the temple, he would just tell them to trust Modi.</p>.<p>He said it is Modi’s dream to develop Ayodhya as the “Vedic Ramayana city”.</p>.<p>The celebrations began in the afternoon with a “coronation procession” for Lord Ram starting from Saket College for the riverbank five kilometers away. Eleven tableaux, built around themes from the Ramayana, participated.</p>.<p>In the evening, 11,000 earthen lamps lit up the Ram temple site. On the banks of the Saryu bank, the chief minister performed an ‘aarti’.</p>.<p>He then lit a 'diya' at Ram ki Paidi. This was immediately followed by volunteers lighting up earthen lamps laid out on the riverbank, aiming to create a new Guinness World Record by lighting at least 5.51 lakh `diyas’.</p>.<p>The final count was 6,06,569 ‘diyas’, according to a representative of the Guinness World Records, a private company which publishes a book on records every year.</p>.<p>Last year, the organisers lit about 4,10,000 ‘diyas’, the then new record. Adityanath on Friday said the target next year should be 7.51 lakh.</p>.<p>Eight teams of folk dancers were invited to perform at the Deepotsav.</p>.<p>"We did rehearsals for over two weeks before coming to Ayodhya," said Vishal, a member of a troupe from Jhansi.</p>.<p>Anuradha, a folk dancer from Mathura, said, “We are very excited that we are performing on the streets of Ayodhya, the city of Lord Ram.”</p>.<p>Before the event, state government officials had listed out development projects for Ayodhya – some of them new, but many already in the pipeline.</p>.<p>These include an international airport and widening of roads to other cities.</p>.<p>The authorities plan to expand the Ram Katha Park, build a Ramlila Centre and carry out beautification of Ram ki Paidi.</p>.<p>Also planned are a modern bus stand, a sewage treatment plant and a multi-level parking lot.</p>
<p>The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday went all out in marking the homecoming of Lord Ram to this holy town – the mythical event in 'treta yug' on which the festival of Diwali is based. Along the way, the organisers broke a world record.</p>.<p>As dusk fell, volunteers lit up over six lakh earthen lamps lined up on the Saryu riverbank.</p>.<p>A team from the Guinness World Records was present to see if it made it to their book. Hours later, team leader Nishchal Barot gave the final count as 6,06,569 `diyas’, telling PTI that it was “largest display of oil lamps” in the world.</p>.<p>An organiser said about 8,000 volunteers, drawn from a local college and NGOs, were involved in the feat.</p>.<p>The “Deepotsav” included the reenactment of the arrival of God Ram and Goddess Sita to Ayodhya on their 'pushpak viman', a laser and sound show and cultural programmes.</p>.<p>Actors representing the deities of Ram, Sita and Lakshman descended in a helicopter that sprinkled rose petals – a modern take on the ‘pushpak viman’ that brought Lord Ram back home after 14 years in exile.</p>.<p>The deities were received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.</p>.<p>This was the fourth annual Ayodhya Deepotsav, and the first since the ‘bhoomi pujan’ in August for a Ram temple in the city. Its construction has begun following last year’s Supreme Court verdict that settled the temple-mosque land dispute.</p>.<p>The CM and the Governor visited the Ram Mandir site along with other UP and some bureaucrats.</p>.<p>Adityanath gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi the credit for the just-begun construction of the Ram Mandir.</p>.<p>"Our generation is not only fortunate to see the start of construction of a Ram temple here but we also attended the historic event,” he said, adding that generations of seers died without the dream being realised.</p>.<p>“I thank PM Modi, who is the one who implemented the ideology of Ram Rajya," Adityanath said in his speech to about 1,000 guests at the Ram Katha Park.</p>.<p>With COVID-19 protocols in place, the event was not open to the public.</p>.<p>He said when people in Ayodhya used to ask him about the construction of the temple, he would just tell them to trust Modi.</p>.<p>He said it is Modi’s dream to develop Ayodhya as the “Vedic Ramayana city”.</p>.<p>The celebrations began in the afternoon with a “coronation procession” for Lord Ram starting from Saket College for the riverbank five kilometers away. Eleven tableaux, built around themes from the Ramayana, participated.</p>.<p>In the evening, 11,000 earthen lamps lit up the Ram temple site. On the banks of the Saryu bank, the chief minister performed an ‘aarti’.</p>.<p>He then lit a 'diya' at Ram ki Paidi. This was immediately followed by volunteers lighting up earthen lamps laid out on the riverbank, aiming to create a new Guinness World Record by lighting at least 5.51 lakh `diyas’.</p>.<p>The final count was 6,06,569 ‘diyas’, according to a representative of the Guinness World Records, a private company which publishes a book on records every year.</p>.<p>Last year, the organisers lit about 4,10,000 ‘diyas’, the then new record. Adityanath on Friday said the target next year should be 7.51 lakh.</p>.<p>Eight teams of folk dancers were invited to perform at the Deepotsav.</p>.<p>"We did rehearsals for over two weeks before coming to Ayodhya," said Vishal, a member of a troupe from Jhansi.</p>.<p>Anuradha, a folk dancer from Mathura, said, “We are very excited that we are performing on the streets of Ayodhya, the city of Lord Ram.”</p>.<p>Before the event, state government officials had listed out development projects for Ayodhya – some of them new, but many already in the pipeline.</p>.<p>These include an international airport and widening of roads to other cities.</p>.<p>The authorities plan to expand the Ram Katha Park, build a Ramlila Centre and carry out beautification of Ram ki Paidi.</p>.<p>Also planned are a modern bus stand, a sewage treatment plant and a multi-level parking lot.</p>