Over 1.28 lakh tourists visit Statue of Unity in 11 days

November 12, 2018 09:26

Since opening for the public on November 1, the 182-metre tall Statue of Unity in Narmada district of Gujarat has attracted more than 1.28 lakh tourists, officials said.

A huge rush of tourists was seen during the weekend, with over 50,000 people visiting the world's tallest statue at Kevadiya village on Saturday and Sunday alone (November 10- 11), they said.

"Since November 1, when the statue opened for the public, we have recieved around 1.28 lakh tourists (till Sunday)," Superintending Engineer of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd R G Kanungo said.

Over 24,000 tourists visited the site Sunday and more than 27,000 Saturday, he said.

The statue, dedicated to `Iron Man of India' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, is situated on an islet near the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Kevadiya. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31.

Principal Secretary (Tourism) S J Haider said more than 10,000 tourists had visited the statue on the very first day of its opening.

"The number of tourists kept on increasing since November 1," he said.

Haider said the government is ready to welcome any number of tourists at the site.

He said the new tourist attraction in Gujarat will help increase the number of travellers visiting the state from other parts of the country and also abroad.

"Gujarat has registered 17 per cent year-on growth in tourism with a total 5.2 crore tourists visiting the state in 2017. The Statue of Unity will help in achieving considerable growth in arrival of tourists to Gujarat," he said.

The towering structure, built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore, is nearly twice the height of Statue of Liberty in United States and also bigger than Spring Temple Buddha, China (153 metres) and Ushika Daibustum Japan (120 metres).

Along with the Statue of Unity, Gujarat Tourism has added many attractions nearby for sight-seeing. Two tent cities have been created along the backwater lakes of the Narmada dam reservoir for tourists who want to stay there.

Among the prime attractions at the site is a viewers gallery inside the statue located at a height of 135 metres with a capacity to accommodate 200 persons at a time. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

LIVE! Why is ECI afraid?: Cong after election rule tweak

Govt tweaks poll rule to curb public inspection of...

Based on the recommendation of the Election Commission (EC), the Union law ministry on Friday amended Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.

'Pushpa 2' stampede: CM lambast 'inhuman' Allu Arjun

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has criticized Telugu actor Allu Arjun for attending the screening of 'Pushpa-2' despite police permission being denied. Reddy alleges that the actor continued to be present at the cinema hall...

Amid Ambedkar row, AAP declares scholarship for Dalits

In the run-up to the assembly elections in Delhi, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced an Ambedkar scholarship for free foreign education of the city's Dalit students. The scholarship is a response to the BJP's "insult" of Ambedkar,...

TN temple refuses to return iPhone dropped in 'hundi'

As per the practises and tradition at the temples, any offerings made into the hundial directly goes into the account of the deity of that temple. Rules do not permit the administration to return the offerings back to the devotees, Babu...