Lights go off, aerial crackers light the sky

Residents respond to PM’s call

06/04/2020, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

Residents lit traditional lamps in Madurai on Sunday night. G. Moorthy

Switching off lights, many residents of Madurai stood outside their houses and on their terraces with lamps, candles and torches for nine minutes from 9 p.m. on Sunday night, in response to the call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a way to demonstrate their collective will to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

People of all ages participated in the exercise. At many places across the city, the residents also responded to the Prime Minister’s call with bursting of crackers that went on beyond 9.30 p.m. Aerial crackers that started at 9 p.m. also lit up the otherwise cloudy sky.

“Being quarantined inside homes for the last few days has created anxiety and panic among residents about the COVID-19 pandemic. But when we saw other residents coming out of their homes with candles and lights, we felt positive. Now, we are confident that we can together cooperate and successfully outlive the outbreak,” said M. Rajan of Teppakulam.

At Tirumalai Colony in Sammattipuram, the residents arranged lamps on the road which read ‘Go back Corona.’

Many of the houses in K.K. Nagar had switched off the lights, said N. Venkatesh, a college student. However, street lights continued to glow in the city.