Mumbai, Apr 5 (PTI) People from across Maharashtra responded enthusiastically to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to defeat coronavirus by switching off lights in their premises for nine minutes at 9 pm on Sunday amid the national lockdown.

People lit landles, diyas and flashed lights of their mobile phones by standing in balconies of their houses.

Prominent personalities such as NCP chief Sharad Pawar, family of renowned singer Lata Mangeshkar, actor Amitabh Bachchan as well asseveral oher actors and celebrities too responded to the PM's call.

Meanwhile, some youths took out bike rallies in localities like Bandra, Juhu and Andheri flashing their headlights.

Major cities such as Pune, which is the major IT hub in the state, as well as Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur also saw enthusiastic response from people.

The Prime Minister on Friday urged people to switch off the lights at their homes and light up lamps, candles or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5 to display the country's "collective resolve" to defeat coronavirus.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)