JOY WAS boundless for the district administration in general and Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner Mr Mandeep Singh Brar in particular, as a 25-member delegation from United Kingdom, consisting of members of House of Lords, NRI's and some Indian TV stars landed in the holy land of Kurukshetra for one-day historical pilgrimage tour. The district administration had very recently chalked out a road-map to popularize Kurukshetra among the domestic and international pilgrims and tourists.

The district administration gave the delegation a red-carpet welcome in the Neelkanthi Yatri Niwas, a state tourism motel and offered a booklet on the historicity and sanctity of Kurukshetra since the epic age of the Mahabharata war. The delegates had a discussion on the viability of bilateral exchange of tourism, education, art and other areas of mutual interest. The delegates, who were inspired by the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha MP and industrialist Mr Navin Jindal, included members of the House of Lords, namely Lord & Lady Shiekh, Lord Diljeet Rana, MP House of Commons Tony Baldry, Richard Harington, Dr. Rami Ranger & Mrs. Ranger, and Ms. Kavita Choudhary, a well-known TV star of Doordarshan's Udaan TV serial.

Kurukshetra DC, Mr. Mandip Singh Brar, after welcoming them with garlands, apprised them of the significance of the city from historical and religious points of view. He also told them about the government efforts to make the city a wonderful place for the pilgrims and tourists by providing them international facilities. He narrated them the way Kurukshetra-Utsav Gita Jayanti Samaroh is celebrated every year in the month of October-November in which pilgrims from all over the world wish to participate. The concept is to popularize the relevance of the Gita in today's turmoil world, infested with chaos, violence and terrorism. The craft Mela, set up on this occasion provided a glimpse of the Indian craftsmanship.

Kurukshetra SDM, Satbir Kundu; CEO of Kurukshetra Development Board, Ashok Bansal; DIPRO, Dev Raj Sirohiwall  and Curator of Krishna Museum, Mr. Rajender Rana also attended the delegation. Later, the delegates visited Brahm Srovar, Gurudwara Chathi Patsahi and OP Jindal Park.  They were given a warm send-off in the evening. The delegates appreciated the efforts of the district administration for making sincere endeavor to provide basic amenities for the pilgrims and tourists.