Sale of diyas in the national capital have increased after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed citizens to either light a candle, diya or flashlight at 9 pm on April 5 to dispel the darkness and gloom brought by the outbreak of the deadly novel Coronavirus.
"Sales of diyas have increased to 50 per cent and we also got orders. It has happened because of Modi ji's appeal. We are with him in this," Ram Ravi Kumar, a shopkeeper told ANI.
Another shopkeeper said: "We were not getting customers due to lockdown. But from tomorrow, customers started coming to our shop. We also got some orders on the phone. I hope that we will get customers today as well."
Amid a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, Prime Minister Modi asked the people to turn off all the lights in their homes and stand at doors or balconies and light candles or diyas, torches or mobile flashlights for 9 minutes on April 5.