'Before leaving for Patna to catch a train to New Delhi, Toby told me that he will not forget the help in his lifetime,' he added.

Taregna, which attracted thousands of tourists after it was reported to be one of the best places to watch the eclipse, has neither a hotel or a guest house. Many of the visitors stayed at the St Mary School.

The Bihar government as well as the district administration had claimed to have made arrangement for housing at least 50 guests, including foreign tourists, at the local hospital. But not much help was at hand when tourists arrived.

Taregna has an ancient connection with astronomy, having been one of the two places used by sixth century Indian astronomer-mathematician Aryabhatta for his celestial studies.

S.N. Pandey, the man who discovered and highlighted Taregna's connection with Aryabhatta, said he failed to understand why the state tourism department missed a golden opportunity to promote tourism at the spot.