If one decides to visit the Statue of Unity – apart from the statue itself one can already take a stroll to the observation deck, valley of flower, museum, audio-visual gallery and the Sardar Sarovar dam itself. In the upcoming months, the visitors can include many other detours in their trip! From a night safari to ropeway ride to even a tribal museum and an amusement park.
Last Thursday, National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) and other stakeholders met at the tent city of the Statue of Unity to discuss a plan to bring as many as five million tourists to the statue. As of 2019, the council estimated that around 3 million will visit the statue this year. However, to take the leap towards the 5 million mark all the other facilities have been proposed.
The council has decided to come up with an amusement park of global standards, a tribal museum to showcase the cultures of Gujarat, a night safari, and a ropeway connecting the dam and safari spot. Along with that, a building will also be set up for the state bhawans, a multi-cuisine restaurant complex, and boat riding facilities on the dam. A check dam will be constructed around 10 km downstream, to offer boating and other water sports facilities for a length of over 10 km.
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Besides the Narmada tent city, which provides a magnificent view of the statue, other mid-segment hotels are also proposed to come up on the land leased out to the Narmada Valley Development Authority to address the needs of the frowning influx of tourists.
Regular helicopter service will also be started from various cities in Gujarat, along with seaplanes to various other destinations.
The Statue of Unity, which is almost double the size of Statue of Liberty was inaugurated last year by PM Narendra Modi, on the banks of Narmada river in Gujarat. Ever since then it has witnessed thousands of visitors and have even hosted the International Kite festival 2019, where kite fliers from 45 different countries descended to celebrate the Uttarayan festival of the state.