Indians celebrate festival of light amid COVID-19 fears

New Delhi, Nov 4 (BUS): Indians across the country began celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Thursday amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic and increasing air pollution.

Diwali is usually celebrated through socializing and exchanging gifts with family and friends. The Associated Press reports that several lanterns or light oil candles symbolize the victory of light over darkness, and fireworks are released as part of the festivities.

Last year, celebrations in India were upended by a renewed rise in COVID-19 infections, but this year it appears that the festivities are back. Although the government asked people to avoid large gatherings, markets came alive before Diwali, with eager crowds buying flowers, lanterns and candles.

As dusk fell on Wednesday, more than 900,000 dirt lamps were lit and burned for 45 minutes in the northern city of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh, holding Guinness World Records records last year. As part of the Diwali celebrations, the city last year lit 606,569 oil lamps.

Lamps lit at Ram ki Pauri, on the banks of the Saryu River, a stunning sight for the thousands of visitors who flocked to its beaches while ignoring coronavirus social distancing standards. This was followed by a laser show and fireworks that lit up city lanes and river banks. Thousands of city dwellers also lit lamps in their homes and temples.

The festival is being celebrated at a time when the pandemic crisis in India has largely abated.

On Thursday, the country recorded more than 12,000 new coronavirus cases and 461 deaths, much different from earlier this year when India slid with a few hundred thousand new infections each day. Overall, more than 35 million infections and more than 459,000 deaths have been recorded, according to the Ministry of Health. These numbers, as elsewhere, are likely to be underestimated.

Even states where infections were swelling a few weeks ago, such as Kerala along the tropical Malabar Coast, have seen a sustained decline. India also celebrated the administration of the billionth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last month, adding to confidence that life is returning to normal.

However, experts have warned that the festival season could lead to a new spike in infections if COVID-19 health measures are not implemented.

There are also concerns about air pollution, which usually blankets northern India in a haze of toxic gray smoke at this time as temperatures drop and winter stabilizes.

On the night of Diwali, people also lit up the sky with firecrackers – their smoke causing pollution that takes days to dissipate.

Although there is no nationwide ban on setting off fireworks, a number of states have imposed restrictions to stem the pollution, with some allowing their residents to light green firecrackers for a certain number of hours. Green crackers produce lower emissions than regular firecrackers. In the past, a similar ban was often violated.

FKN