Haryana Government has made elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims who will visit  Kurukshetra during the Solar Eclipse Fair-2019 on December 26, 2019. This year, the fair will witness the participation of  15 lakh devotees from India and abroad.  The State Government will run special buses for the convenience of devotees so that the devotees do not face any inconvenience in reaching  Kurukshetra.

This was informed during a meeting chaired by  Chief Secretary, Mrs. Keshni Anand Arora  to review the arrangements for the Solar Eclipse Fair – 2019.

The Chief Secretary directed the officers that the district administration, Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra Development Board and the Tourism department should work in coordination to ensure the successful organization of the fair.

She directed the officers to work towards developing an Android app to further strengthen the public address system at the fair so that any person can easily get information related to the fair through the mobile app.

Apart from this, to strengthen the medical system, arrangements of ambulances, stretchers, teams of doctors should be placed in the fairground, the Chief Secretary added.

She further said that a sufficient number of fire fighting vehicles should be arranged at the mela site.  Boats, divers and swimmers should be ensured to be installed at Brahmasovar so that all facilities are available immediately in case of any emergency.

She said that the law and order should be strengthened to ensure the security of every devotee visiting the fair. She said that proper arrangements should also be made for lodging facilities for devotees, Bhandara, drinking water, toilets, parking, etc. She said that electricity and the telephone should also be arranged in the fair area.  In addition, full cleanliness arrangements should be made in the fair area.

She said that for the convenience of devotees, special buses should be run from all the districts and coordination of transportation with neighboring states should be done. Apart from this, directions were also given for ensuring the coordination with the railways so that the devotees do not face any inconvenience in reaching Kurukshetra.

Mrs. Arora also directed that booths should be set up in the Mela area by Vita and Hafed which will not only promote the products of Haryana but the basic needs of the devotees will also be fulfilled.

It was informed in the meeting that the fair area has been divided into 20 sectors, for which around 5000 police personnel will be deployed for the safety.  Apart from this, a police control room will also be established in the fairground. Videography will also be done with the help of drones to protect the fair area.

It was also informed that a dedicated route is being constructed from the fair area to the main road to deal with any untoward and emergency situation and through this route ambulances, fire vehicles and police vehicles can be easily moved.  It was informed that during the fair all group of devotees will be covered under group insurance.

In addition, 22 parking spots have been identified for parking. It was informed that help desks will be set up to provide help for any missing person or child during the mela. Reception centers will also be set up in the fair area.

Among those present in the meeting included, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr. Rajesh Khullar, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism Department, Mr. Vijay Vardhan, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department Mr. Devender Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Power Department Mr. T.C. Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department Mr. T.V.S. N.  Prasad, Divisional Commissioner, Karnal Mr. Vineet Garg, Additional Director General  Police, Law and Order Mr. Navdeep Singh Virk and other senior officers.