Lucknow, Oct 19 (IANS): As part of the grand 'Deepotsav' celebrations in Ayodhya this year, the Uttar Pradesh government has begun preparations in all the secondary and primary schools in the state to mark the occasion.

In a directive, Director of Secondary Education Vinay Kumar Pandey instructed the district school inspectors to "organise the 'Deepotsav' programme in their respective schools".

The directive stated: "Lights 'diyas' (earthen lamps) in your respective schools on October 25 and 26. Email the full details including the photos of the festival and the name of the school. Based on this, the state government will award 51 secondary schools and 51 primary schools for thier efforts."

The directive further added that all the secondary schools will also be mandated to carry out a cleanliness drive on October 25 and photos of which will have to sent along with those of 'Deepotsav'.

Pandey said: "The state government hopes that festivals like Diwali should be celebrated on a large scale which will further help inculcate the aspects of religion and culture within the young students."

The 'Deepotsav' festival in Ayodhya, this year, will be held from October 24 to 26 as part of the annual Diwali celebrations.