Akshardham temple decorated with lights on the eve of Deepavali, the festival of lights in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on November 13, 2020. Several States and Union Territories in India have announced a total ban on bursting all forms of firecrackers and their sales due to the upsurge of COVID-19 and consistent rise in air pollution.
Photo: Vijay Soneji
People throng a market in Ahmedabad ahead of Deepavali on November 12, 2020.
Photo: AP
People light lamps on the banks of river Saryu in Ayodhya, on Nov. 13, 2020. Ayodhya kept its Guinness World Record for a second straight year by lighting 6,06,569 oil lamps and keeping them burning for at least 45 minutes on the banks of the river Saryu as part of the Deepavali celebrations.
Photo: AP
A park near North Coimbatore Flyover is illuminated with decorative lights ahead of Deepavali on November 13, 2020.
Photo: M. Periasamy
Students from a slum area, who do not have access to internet facilities and miss their online lessons, attend an open-air class to celebrate Children's Day/Diwali, at Yamuna Khadar in New Delhi, on Nov. 13, 2020. Business worth crores has been rendered worthless after the NGT banned the sale and use of firecrackers this festive season in New Delhi.
Photo: PTI
Children hold posters during an awareness campaign on prohibiting usage of firecrackers, on the eve of Deepavali and Kali Puja, in Kolkata, on Nov. 13, 2020.
Photo: PTI
A child wearing a ‘spiderman’ costume buying firecrackers with his father, at stalls set up at Swaraj Maidan in Vijayawada on November 13, 2020. Andhra Pradesh Govt fixed a duration for bursting of crackers from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the day of Deepavali.
Photo: V. RAJU
Uttar Pradesh state Governor Anandiben Patel, right, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, second right, receive artists dressed as Lord Ram, Goddess Sita and Lakshman as they alight from a helicopter on the banks of river Saryu on the eve of Deepavali in Ayodhya, on Nov. 13, 2020.
Photo: AP
A view of Besant Road crowded on the eve of the Deepavali festival, in Vijayawada, on Nov. 13, 2020.
Photo: PTI
