Preparations begin for grand Deepotsav 2025 in Ayodhya; 56 ghats to glow with diyas

Preparations have begun for the grand Deepotsav 2025 in Ayodhya, to be organised by Dr Rammanohar Lohia Avadh University, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement.

The annual event, now recognised globally, will once again illuminate the sacred city of Lord Ram.

Under the supervision of Vice Chancellor Colonel Bijendra Singh, the university team is working to organise and beautify the ghats ahead of the festival.

Nodal officer of Deepotsav, Professor Sant Sharan Mishra, said the ghats are being cleaned and marked for the arrangement of diyas. Each block is being marked in an area of 4.5 square feet, with 2.5-foot-wide pathways left for devotees' movement, he said.

Deepotsav will be held on October 19 this year, and 56 ghats have been selected for the celebrations, where millions of lamps will be lit.

The marking committee, led by Dr Ranjan Singh, head of the Department of Microbiology, is expected to complete the work within a week. Online registration of about 30,000 volunteers for the smooth conduct of the event is in its final stage, while lamp supply preparations will begin soon, the statement said.

The government said the festival will further highlight Ayodhya's cultural and spiritual identity and reinforce its image as "Ram ki Nagri, Prakash ki Nagri".

Last year, on October 30, Ayodhya set two Guinness World Records when 25,12,585 diyas illuminated 55 ghats along the Saryu river during the eighth edition of Deepotsav on Diwali eve. It was the first Deepotsav since the consecration of the Ram Lalla temple on January 22.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the 2024 celebrations, which also saw participation from Union Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and other dignitaries.

More than 35 lakh lamps were lit across the city, of which over 25 lakh were placed along the Saryu ghats.

The number of diyas lit during Deepotsav has steadily risen over the years — 1.71 lakh in 2017, 3.01 lakh in 2018, 4.04 lakh in 2019, 6.06 lakh in 2020, 9.41 lakh in 2021, 15.76 lakh in 2022 and 22.23 lakh in 2023, the government said.