Rashtrapati Bhavan to draw more tourists

Three new tourist circuits being developed will be inaugurated on July 25 this year

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Rashtrapati Bhavan, the sprawling official residence of the country's President, is preparing to attract more tourists.

Three new 'tourist circuits' are being developed there — the main building, museums and the gardens, which visitors can see individually or in combination. These will be inaugurated on July 25.

During a meeting on Thursday with several leading tour operators, Omita Paul, secretary to the President, asked them to create greater awareness and attract visitors, from both India and abroad. Paul said the Bhavan was looking forward to serving as a major tourist destination.

A statement citing Paul said ever since Pranab Mukherjee took charge as President in July 2012, he had been making efforts to bring the institution closer to the general public by demystifying every aspect of the Bhavan. Visitors now also have the convenience of booking and paying for their visits online.

On TripAdvisor, 1,100 visitors have posted reviews of the Bhavan. At present, a visitor is required to pay Rs 25 for one visit; those below 12 years of age are exempt. According to the President’s web site, visitors are allowed only on three days of the week — Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and excluding gazetted holidays. The timings are 9 am till 4 pm.  

Rashtrapati Bhavan, in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi, was the erstwhile residence of the British Viceroy. Its architect was Edwin Landseer Lutyens. The decision to build a residence in New Delhi for the Viceroy was taken after it was announced in the Delhi Durbar of late 1911 that the capital of India would be shifted from Calcutta (now Kolkata). The main building has four floors and 340 rooms. With a floor area of 200,000 sq ft, it was built by using 700 million bricks and three million cubic ft of stone. Hardly any steel has gone into the construction. It was to be completed in four years but took 17.