Elephants drawing foreigners to Sonepur cattle fair

Jutta, a woman visitor from Germany, told PTI that she had heard a lot about Sonepur cattle fair and has come here to see 'Hatthi snan' (elephant bath).

Her companion George Marks said "The activities of infant elephants particularly charmed me."

Sonepur fair on the bank of Ganga river started from November 27 and will end on December 26. The annual event this year has attracted attention of international visitors.

Ajay Kumar, manager of Swiss Cottage near the fair site said 23 foreigners have booked into the specially designed hospitality facility so far. The numbers are expected to rise with time.

The tourists hail from Japan, France, the USA and UK, he said.

Besides, many foreign tourists are staying in Patna or Hajipur and visit the fair during the day time.

Organisers said so far 30 elephants have arrived at the mela from different parts of the state and many more are expected.

Ram Pravesh Yadav from Masaurhi said he comes to the fair every year with his elephant.

Besides elephants, horses and birds are also drawing the attention of the visitors.

Seeing the interest in elephants, local MLA Vinay Kumar Singh stressed on the need to increase their presence in the Sonepur fair also known as 'Harihar kshetra ka mela'.

Theatres famous for modern songs and dances and about 60 stalls of IT gadgets are also drawing big crowds.