Bengal switches off electric lights for 9 minutes

Most houses in West Bengal went dark at the stroke of 9 pm on Sunday as people came out to their balconies and rooftops with flickering candles and flashlights of mobiles after switching off the electric lights in their buildings in response to an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show the nation's "collective resolve and solidarity" in its fight against coronavirus. Little children stood patiently as their mothers lit up candles in the balconies and guarded the light against the wind for nine minutes as called for by Modi, before clapping to mark the culmination.

Some over-enthusiastic men came out on the streets flashing torch lights and shouting "go corona, go." They even shut out the street lights as some others burst firecrackers and released paper lanterns in the sky. Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee mocked the bursting of crackers during those nine minutes claiming that India became the first in the world to celebrate the pandemic.

Men and women of different ages and background came out enthusiastically to the rooftops of their buildings or at the doors of their tenements with diyas, lighted torches or mobile flashlights. Lights were switched off at the Raj Bhawan and diyas were lit in response to the call given by the prime minister.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar along with his wife was seen standing with candles on their hands in the Raj Bhawan. Women of some households blew conch shells, a traditional ritual to ward off the evil and usher in the good during the nine-minute show of solidarity.

A few people, however, chose to continue their daily chores as usual. During those nine minutes, power demand in the areas under the jurisdiction of West Bengal State Electricity Board went down by around 30 per cent whereas the supply in the CESC area slumped by 125 MW.

There were no reports of power cut from across the state. State Power Minister Sovandeb Chatterjee said his department had kept a backup supply system ready following apprehensions of grid failure due to fluctuations in consumption.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh and senior state BJP leaders were seen standing outside their homes with candles in their hand. On the bursting of firecrackers, Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, wondered whether "self-isolation or self-destruction" is being preached.

"With the firecrackers, fancy diyas & sky lanterns, we have become the first ever Nation to celebrate a pandemic #COVID19," he tweeted..