The Statue of Unity listed as one of the eight wonders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), will be reopened for tourists from October 17, 2020. After government’s recent decision to reopen major tourist destinations at Kevadia on the banks of Narmada River including Jungle Safari, Children Nutrition Park, Ekta Mall among others, the 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel will be reopened for visitors on the first day of Navratri, after remaining shut for almost seven months in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Statue of Unity will be reopened for tourists with several precautionary measures in place to stop Coronavirus spread. The Sardar Ekta Trust, which manages the structure, has released the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the same.
As part of the strict compliance to Covid-19 protocol, wearing a mask is compulsory for each tourist. Discipline shall have to be followed by standing only at the designated places within the Statue premises. Each tourist has to undergo thermal screening and sanitisation.
Tickets to visit the statue will have to be purchased online via the authorised website. The ticket window will be opened for a two-hour slot. Around 2,500 tourists will be allowed to visit the Statue of Unity every day. However, only 500 tourists will be allowed up to the viewing gallery to ensure strict social distancing is maintained.
Visitors will be allowed to enter in five slots of two hours each. In each slot, 500 visitors will be allowed. As per the official data, in November last year the 182-meter Sardar Patel’s statue had recorded average daily tourist footfall of 15,036, which was higher than around 10,000 at Statue of Liberty in New York. In January this year, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation had declared Statue of Unity as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
