Haryana gears up for 1.5 m tourists during solar eclipse

Chandigarh, July 12

Keen to capitalise on religious fervour during a major solar eclipse July 22, the Haryana tourism department has made elaborate arrangements for visitors to the holy town of Kurukshetra as it expects around 1.5 million tourists to come during the celestial phenomenon.

The solar eclipse will last from from 5.35 a.m. to 7.25 a.m. and there will be a total eclipse for the duration of 6 minutes and 47 seconds.

"This is a big opportunity for us to represent Haryana as a world-class tourist destination before the world. We have made elaborate arrangements for accommodation, food, security and parking for the tourists coming here," Kiran Choudhry, minister of state for tourism, told reporters here Monday.

"In 2009, we have three eclipses that itself is a unique thing. A cycle of three eclipses in a single year is considered unfortunate as per our traditional beliefs so we are expecting more number of enthusiastic visitors this time."

Earlier, there was a lunar eclipse July 6, and another will take place Aug 6.

"Large screens will be installed at five to six places in Kurukshetra to showcase various tourist destinations of Haryana. There would a special light and sound show and telecasts of various episodes of the epic Mahabharata to educate people about the relevance of this historical place," said Choudhry.

Last updated on Jul 12^th, 2009 at 20:11 pm IST--IANS

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