Indira Gandhi Planetarium in Patna. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, May 8: It is supposed to take you closer to the stars but Indira Gandhi Planetarium, one of the largest in Asia, is finding it difficult to take off these days.

Popular among city residents and visitors alike, the planetarium has shut down for the past 15 days, thanks to a technical snag in the UPS of one of its machines.

Sources said the planetarium that can accommodate 276 people at one go is usually chock-a-block on weekends. Many visitors, however, had to return disappointed today.

“I did not have any idea about the planetarium not functioning. I have come all the way from Danapur to see some of the shows, as my relatives have come from the village. They were eager to see the planetarium, as it is one of the famous places in Patna,” said Surendra Singh, a visitor.

He added: “The security guard told us that there would be no show. It was very disappointing for us.”

S.A. Mintu, project director, Bihar State Council of Science and Technology, had earlier announced that the planetarium would be upgraded soon and two new ones would be opened at Gaya and Darbhanga.

An official at the planetarium said: “The main projector, brought from Japan, is very old and has developed a snag. It cannot take the load of eight films each day, as it used to earlier. Technical experts are trying their best to remove the snag. We hope to run the shows again from next week.”

Sources said with tickets priced at Rs 20, the planetarium had already lost more than Rs 4 lakh in revenue.

Science and technology minister Gautam Singh was unavailable for comment.