Diwali 2018: PM Narendra Modi celebrates festival with jawans at Harsil in Uttarakhand

Background

Diwali 2018 LIVE Updates: The country is all set to celebrate the festival of lights Diwali, also known as Deepavali, it's time of the year when people celebrate the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Diwali celebrations are of great significance this year with major political developments scheduled to take place throughout the day. Today Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kedarnath on the occasion of Diwali to offer prayers at the Himalayan shrine and is expected to review Kedarpuri reconstruction projects. The Prime Minister arrived at the temple at around 10:00 am. After visiting Kedarnath, PM Modi said that he will celebrate Diwali with Army jawans and will also share the pictures of his experience. Even in Uttar Pradesh Diwali celebrations is going to be special this year as chief minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to make a big announcement regarding the construction of a grand statue of ‘Lord Ram’ as he will visit Ayodhya accompanied by South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-Sook. Both the dignitaries will reportedly lay the foundation stone for the Korean Memorial, which is dedicated to Korean queen Suriratna (Heo Hwang-ok).

Apart from PM Modi and Adityanath, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will celebrate Diwali with Indian Army troops deployed at forward posts in Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. She will fly over the general area and visit Anini and Andrala Omkar forward posts and meet the troops there today. Sitharaman would be briefed about the defence preparedness and infrastructure improvements by the Army and would also meet and interact with the families of soldiers who died in the line of duty, news agency PTI quoted an Army official as saying. Amidst the Diwali celebrations across the country, its national capital is facing some major concerns of incredibly toxic air.

Delhiites woke up to a haze of smog after the city’s pollution level reportedly crossed the limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) limit by 20 times. Though the Supreme Court of India has imposed a ban on all hazardous firecrackers in the capital, green fireworks with reduced emissions have been permitted. The apex court has further directed that the use of firecrackers would only be allowed from 8-10 pm on Diwali.

16:43 PM (IST)  •  07 Nov 2018

"You are not only protecting one corner of our land. By securing the country's borders, you are making safe the lives and dreams of 125 crore Indians," Modi told the soldiers in the presence of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. Likening the soldiers with 'diyas' (earthen lamps), the prime minister said, "The way a diya burns itself to light up the world you lead a hard life to spread the light of fearlessness all around."

16:41 PM (IST)  •  07 Nov 2018

Greeting the jawans in the Harshil cantonment area, the prime minister said they, through their commitment and discipline, are securing the future and the dreams of 125 crore Indians and helping spread a sense of security and fearlessness among the people.

13:36 PM (IST)  •  07 Nov 2018

PM @narendramodi visits Kedarnath Temple; takes an overview of the progress of reconstruction projects. https://t.co/aoxcp8Cc4S

13:00 PM (IST)  •  07 Nov 2018

"As an RSS member,I got opportunity to live among Army men. At that time I heard a lot about One Rank One Pension.Many govts came&left.Since I was connected to you I understood your emotions. So,after becoming PM it was my responsibility to fulfill your dreams of OROP," PM Modi said earlier in the day.

11:50 AM (IST)  •  07 Nov 2018

After meeting the ITBS jawans, PM Narendra Modi leaves from Kedarnath.