Diwali festivities gripped the national capital here today as Delhiites celebrated it by performing poojas, exchanging sweets and sharing the joy with near and dear ones, and lighting up the night sky with fireworks, earthen lamps and electronic lights.
The festive fervour was evident since morning as people were busy decorating their houses with 'diyas' (earthen lamps) and colourful 'rangolis'.
By afternoon, houses and shops were at their decorative best, with electronic lights around the house, flowers donning the insides and rangolis welcoming people at the entrances.
Enthusiastic children did not bother to wait till evening and started bursting crackers since morning, despite an appeal to celebrate a cracker-free Diwali.
People had been flooding markets throughout this week in frenzied shopping and early on in the day too, many people rushed to their nearby shops to make sure they have enough sweets and crackers for the day.
Markets were decked up to welcome the large number of buyers.
Many, mostly the youngsters, took to social networking website Facebook to wish a 'Happy Diwali' to friends and some of them used the platform advising their friends to follow safety norms while bursting crackers.
Mobile messaging app WhatsApp also remained a popular mode to share the good wishes.
Police and Delhi Fire Service Department personnel were on their toes to ensure an "incident-free" Diwali.
Delhi Fire Services had deployed fire tenders at 20 vulnerable locations in the city including congested areas and key market places in addition to its 56 fire stations.
Security was strengthened across the city, particularly in markets and other crowded places with commandoes of Delhi Police and SWAT teams being deployed at strategic locations.
Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi along with Special Commissioner (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra took stock of the security arrangements in various parts of the city and instructed officials wherever necessary.
Diwali marks the return of Lord Ram to his kingdom, Ayodhya, after 14 years in exile.
