The number of visitors to The Statue of Unity monument has hit the 50-lakh mark
Bengaluru: The Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat is a monument that is extremely popular.
Now, in what is a milestone, the number of visitors to this monument has crossed the 50-lakh mark.
The statue was inaugurated in the year 2018.
"#StatueofUnity crosses five million visitors mark !!! Built under visionary leadership of Hon.@PMOIndiait has emerged as an international tourist destination, offering multiple attractions for all age groups. @narendramodi @tourismgoi@souindia," Gujarat's Additional Chief Secretary (Forest and Environment) Rajiv Gupta said in a tweet.
Here are a few unique features of the monument.
1. The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue at 182 metres or 597 feet.
2. The height of 182 metres was specifically chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.
3. It is constructed on a river island named Sadhu Bet which is 3.2 km away from and faces the Narmada Dam downstream.
4. The giant statue and its surroundings occupy more than 4.9 acres as per sources.
5. It is also surrounded by a 12-km long artificial lake formed by the Garudeshwar weir downstream on the Narmada river.
6. The statue is built to withstand winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour or 110 mph and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale which are at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue.
Improving connectivity to the monument:
To improve rail and air connectivity to Kevadia, the government recently added eight new trains from different parts of the country and a seaplane service from Ahmedabad. The flow of visitors to the tourist spot was affected after the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, but picked up rapidly since it was reopened for the public on October 17 last year after remaining closed for over seven months.
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