Maha:Enthusiastic response to PM's call from people, Bollywood

People from across Maharashtra responded enthusiastically to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to defeat coronavirus by switching off lights in their premises for nine minutes at 9 pm on Sunday amid the national lockdown. People lit candles, diyas and flashed lights of their mobile phones by standing in balconies of their houses.

Prominent personalities such as NCP chief Sharad Pawar, family of renowned singer Lata Mangeshkar, actor Amitabh Bachchan as well as several other actors and celebrities too responded to the PM's call. State Governor B S Koshyri also stood in the premises of the Raj Bhavan holding a candle in his hand.

Meanwhile, some youths took out bike rallies in localities like Bandra, Juhu and Andheri flashing their headlights. The Prime Minister on Friday urged people to switch off the lights at their homes and light up lamps, candles or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5 to display the country's "collective resolve" to defeat coronavirus.

Meanwhile, in the residential burroughs of Thane--the suburb of Mumbai to the north also known as the dormitory town that supplies much of the workers that keep the financial capital rolling--there was a near-complete observation of the light shutdown. Traditional oil-lit lamps, usually used for suspicious occasions of Diwali, were out in windows of various apartment blocks in the Naupada area.

While a few chanted slogans like 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', a lot of the people were very subdued in their actions, reflecting the sombre nature of the actions. A medical store owner had also decided to participate in the nine-minute silence despite the option not to, and the shop was playing various mantras reflecting the generally dull mood.

At the adjoining Brahman Society, many people were standing with folded hands outside their single storey homes, probably praying for a divine intervention that can help India in these times. Major cities such as Pune, which is the major IT hub in the state, as well as Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur also saw enthusiastic response from people.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)