New Jersey: In solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ”9pm9minute” campaign, the Indian-American community lit diyas and lamps at 9 pm on Sunday (local time) in fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The Prime Minister had urged people to switch off 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 the contagion.
The campaign received a modest response from people in the country as well as the community settled abroad.
As the clock struck 9 pm, several Indian-American homes in New Jersey, San Francisco, Washington, Houston and Chicago turned off lights at their homes and stepped out of their residences.
Some people were seen lighting candles and lamps, while others waved their phones with the flashlights turned on. Religious chants were played at homes and while some prayed in solitude. A few homes even placed the flags of both India and the US together and lit lamps around them.
“My family and I are lighting a lamp for all those heroes out there who are risking their health to get us through this crisis. The lighting of lamps here in the US in our home is a show of solidarity of support to all those selfless men and women across the world who are saving lives,” said Vivek Sharma, a software professional and a person of Indian origin from the Bay Area.
The deadly virus, which has spread across continents and territories across the globe, has infected at least 1.2 million and killed close to 70,000 others. (ANI)
