What world record was created?
On 11th November 2023, Deepotsav was celebrated in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The city's ghats were lit up with lots of earthen lamps (diyas). Ayodhya set a new Guinness World Record that day by lighting 22,23,000 lamps and diyas across 51 ghats at the same time.
The lamps burned for 45 minutes. After counting them, Guinness World Records officials gave UP Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath a certificate. More than 24,000 volunteers, many of them college students, helped set the new record.
When did Deepotsav celebrations begin?
Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya started in 2017 after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in UP, and Yogi Adityanath became the state’s CM. That year, 51,000 diyas were lit. In 2019, it went up to 4.10 lakh. Over 6 lakh diyas were lit in 2020, and in 2021, it was over 9 lakh.
In 2022, more than 17 lakh diyas were lit along the Ram ki Pairi ghats. The Guinness World Record counted only those diyas that stayed lit for five minutes or longer, setting the record at 15,76,955. This year, Ayodhya's previous record has been broken.
People across India celebrated Diwali, spending time with friends and family. However, there were concerns about environmental pollution.
What was the environment like after Diwali?
IQAir says that two Indian cities joined New Delhi as the world's top ten most polluted cities after Diwali celebrations. At the time of writing this, Delhi is ranked first, Mumbai is third, and Kolkata is fifth. This is a big concern, and the authorities need to make sure the air gets better in these cities.
Delhi's air quality index (AQI) became bad again because people burst firecrackers during Diwali. This cancelled out the improvement in air quality from the recent rain.
But Diwali is not the only reason for pollution in Delhi and other cities. People should also be responsible and try to help the environment.
