UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth has announced that Faizabad will be renamed as Ayodhya. Unlike the annual Diwali celebration in Ayodhya being a day-long event, this time the celebrations have been on for three days, today being the finale.
Yogi Adityanath is expected to make a big announcement today, during his visit to the historically important city. He is likely to announce plans for a grand statue of Lord Ram in his birthplace Ayodhya. Government sources said land for the statue will be acquired by the Uttar Pradesh government but the actual statue might be partially crowd-funded. The South Korean first lady is a chief guest at the event.
The biggest draw from today's Diwali celebration in Ayodhya will be the lighting of 3 lakh diyas along the banks of the Saryu river. It will be an attempt at a world record that the government narrowly missed last year. Around 1.7 lakh diyas were lit last year.
The celebrations this year are also very significant because of the huge political focus on the Ram temple issue, which has gained momentum ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls.
