It’s a chilly 4 degrees, but lakhs of pilgrims bathe in Kurukshetra during solar eclipse

Kurukshetra: About five lakh people on Thursday braved the winter chill to visit Kurkshetra, a majority of them bathing in the Brahma Sarovar during the solar eclipse, even though cloudy skies and fog obscured views of the celestial event.

Though the district administration had made elaborate arrangements for about 15 lakh people from across the country, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, many stayed away because of the cold, with just five lakh making it to the city, officials said.

Over 5,000 police officials and hundreds of district administration officials monitored security arrangements.

Special ghats were set up for religious gurus and Naga sadhus. Local BJP leaders, including Kurukshetra MP Nayab Saini were also present in the city.

Even as special trains and buses were run for the occasion, traffic remained diverted on the Kaithal-Kurukshetra, Pehowa-Kurukshetra and Ladwa-Kurukshetra roads