Yogi Adityanath hosts grand Diwali in Ayodhya

Ayodhya on Wednesday witnessed a grand Diwali celebration, marked by the presence of a number of ministers from the Yogi Adityanath government. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

The celebration — named Deepotsav— began in morning with a ‘mokshdaini heritage walk’ for tourists by officials from the Tourism department. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

A shobha yatra from Saket College campus showcased different chapters of the epic Ramayan – Ram Janma, Dhanush Bhang, Ram Vivah, Sita Haran, war between Ram and Raavan and arrival of Ram to Ayodhya by Pushpak Vimaan – on 11 tableaus. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

The shobha yatra passed through the main road and reached Ram Katha park, the venue for the main programme. Heavy security measures were deployed to prevent any untoward incident in the sensitive town. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

At around 4 pm, actors dressed as Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman landed at a helipad near the park and were welcomed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Ram Naik, Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma and Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Yogi Adityanath said, "Good governance — or “Ram Rajya” — will return to Ayodhya, which was neglected by successive state governments." (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Adityanath said, “The government wants to bring Ram Rajya through development. Welfare of humanity is Ram Rajya. Both the central and the state government are working on human welfare through various schemes and programmes.” (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

The CM and Governor walked with them to a stage near the park where they were joined by members of state cabinet and Union Ministers Mahesh Sharma and K J Alphons. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

The dignitaries on the stage welcomed the characters and performed aarti. The moment was marked with slogans of “Jai Shree Ram” from the crowd. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Events from the Ramayan were displayed during a laser show. International artistes performed the Ram Leela at the park, watched by the chief minister. Speaking to the media after that, the CM said that Diwali will be celebrated at more grand scale in future. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

The government on the occasion, laid foundation of various infrastructure projects of Rs 133 crore for Ayodhya. CM also distributed certificates to beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and other schemes. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Defining Ram Rajya as the state of affairs when a family gets power connection 70 years after Independence , and the poor get LPG connection, he said in the past, successive governments had showered certain districts with a bounty. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

“That was Ravan Raaj,” Adityanath said, “when discrimination was done on the basis of one’s caste, family and region.” (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Chants of “Jai Shri Ram” echoed on the banks of the Saryu river as actors portraying the roles of Lord Rama and Sita arrived on a chopper decked up to resemble the mythological Pushpak Viman – in a recreation of Lord Rama’s return from 14 years of exile to Ayodhya – as part of a grand ‘Deepotsav’ celebration. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)