As the clock struck 9, lights went out in most houses and people gathered in balconies and at doors, flashing mobile lights while many lit candles and diyas. Fireworks, thalis, whistles and police sirens were heard. At some places, Hindu devotional songs, mantras and national anthem were also played.

PM Modi, in a ‘short video message’ on Friday, had appealed people to light candles and torches at their balconies and switch off their lights on April 5 to show the country’s “collective resolve” to defeat the dreadful infection.