Surat greeted the longest solar eclipse of the century with a little bit of disappointment mixed with awe on Wednesday morning. Citizens who had gathered at different places in the city to view the eclipse were disappointed after overcast conditions obscured the spectacle. However, many had the experience of a lifetime when they witnessed total blackout during the celestial event.
The sun rose at 6.05 am in the city. Soon after that, there was complete darkness at 6.21 am after the sun was completely covered by the moon. The city was completely enveloped in darkness for atleast three minutes.
All roads in the city led to Surat airport, where an estimated 25,000 citizens, including large number of students, astronomers and sky-gazers had turned up for viewing the eclipse. Hundreds of citizens also assembled at Kamrej in Surat district, and other places too.
The administration was expecting around 10,000 citizens at the airport and had made elaborate arrangements. However, the unexpected high number of visitors led to chaos in the area with police having a hard time controlling the rush. In fact many citizens were unable to reach the airport due to traffic jam.
Chief minister Narendra Modi, who was to visit Surat to watch the total solar eclipse, cancelled his plans as his staff told him there was little possibility of seeing the phenomenon, said an official.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that the eclipse would not be visible due to cloudy skies and rains, but citizens still turned up in large numbers to experience the cosmic occurrence. Many of them had brought telescopes to witness the rare event. Citizens were hoping that the skies would clear and they would be able to watch the celestial event. But, they had to be content watching solar eclipse in Varanasi and other places on large screens installed at the airport premises.
"We were unable to watch the eclipse due to cloud cover, but even then it was an exhilarating experience. The few moments of total blackout, which took place just a few minutes after sunrise, especially was an once-in-a-lifetime experience," said district collector, Dilip Raval.
The administration had even planned to drop rose petals on the citizens from a plane after the eclipse was over. However, the plan had to be abandoned due to adverse weather conditions, officials said.
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