Lights were switched off at the Raj Bhavan and at thePragathi Bhavan (Rao's official residence complex-cum-campoffice) here at 9 pm for nine minutes respectively and theGovernor and the Chief Minister and some of his ministerialcolleagues and senior officials held candles.
"There is a result for combined prayer. Light has apower we ignited the lamps and enlightened our minds so thatcourageously and unitedly we have to face the challenge whichwe are facing--the coronavirus. Our Prime Minister has guidedus very correctly. united we are fighting the virus. We lit130 diyas at Raj Bhavan," Tamilisai Soundararajan said.
People including children wearing masks also lit'diyas' and earthen lamps in front of their homes while manyothers were seen holding torches and switching-on their mobileflashlights in Hyderabad and other parts of the state duringthe nine-minute period. Some of them also lit crackers
The Prime Minister, in a video message on Friday,urged people to switch off lights of their homes at 9 pm fornine minutes on April 5 and light up lamps, candles and mobileflashlights to display the nation's collective spirit todefeat coronavirus (COVID-19).
Officials said there was excellent management of thegrid system without any disruption.
The power utilities of Telangana had earlier said theyhad taken all necessary measures to address the suddenfluctuation in the demand during the nine-minute period.
Telangana State Transmission Corporation Chairman andManaging Director D Prabhakar Rao had allayed fears onmessages circulated in social media of a power grid collapsedue to sudden switching off the lights.
Officials said they estimated that load reduction withlights being turned off could be about 600 MW which they saidwill not have any adverse impact on the power grid and theywere prepared to manage the demand slump up to 1,100 MW duringthe period.
They had also appealed to consumers to continueoperating their household electric appliances such asrefrigerators, air-conditioners, fans, TV sets among otherdomestic appliances. VVK SS