New Delhi :A festive fervour gripped the national capital today as Delhiites celebrated Diwali by performing poojas and exchanging sweets and gifts and sharing the joy with near and dear ones and lighting the sky with fireworks. The festivities were evident since morning as people were busy decorating their houses with earthen lamps and colourful ‘rangolis’.
By afternoon, the celebrations went a notch higher and the houses and shops in the city were at their decorative best as rangolis welcomed guests at their entrances.
By evening, the city was illuminated by beautiful trails of light adorning apartment balconies and as canopies stretched in several residential colonies.
Markets were teeming with enthusiastic shoppers throughout the week and even on the festival day the rush was intact with people trying to make sure that they do not run out of sweets, crackers and other necessities.
Enthusiastic children did not bother to wait till evening and started bursting crackers since morning.
Youngsters mostly took to social networking sites to wish a ‘Happy Diwali’ to friends and some of them even used the platform advising their friends to follow safety norms while bursting crackers.
Police and Delhi Fire Service Department personnel were on their toes to ensure an “incident-free” Diwali, with fire tenders deployed at 20 vulnerable locations in the city including congested areas and key market places in addition to its 56 fire stations.
Security was strengthened across the city, particularly in markets and other crowded places, with personnel of Quick Response Teams and Special Weapons and Tactics teams being deployed at strategic locations.
The top brass of Delhi Police took stock of the security arrangements in various parts of the city and instructed officials wherever and whenever necessary. Diwali marks the return of Lord Ram to his kingdom, Ayodhya, after 14 years in exile.
PTI