Statue of Unity surpasses Lady Liberty with 15,000 average daily footfall

In just over a year of its unveiling, the Statue of Unity has surpassed the footfall at the 133-year-old Statue of Liberty in the US, with an average of over 15,000 tourists visiting the monument in Gujarat daily.

"With 74 per cent increase over the daily average of the first year, that is, November 1, 2018 to October 31, 2019, daily average of 15,036 is now registered in the first month of this second year.

"This has further increased to 22,430 on weekend days. The Statue of Liberty of New York, United States, attracts around 10,000 visitors a day!" a statement by Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd said.

The Statue of Unity is a statue of Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister of the country. With a height of 182 metres, it is the world's tallest statue.

It is located near the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada in Kevadiya colony in Gujarat.

Designed by Indian sculptor Ram V Sutar, the project was first announced in 2010, and was finally unveiled on October 31 last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the statement, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd credited the rise in footfall at the monument to the addition of several new tourist attractions such as jungle safari, children's nutrition park, cactus garden, butterfly garden, ekta nursery, dino trail, river rafting, boating, alongside multiple budget accommodation options.

"These additional tourist attractions have led to a sharp increase in the daily tourists' footfall during November 2019," it said.

It also added that a total of 30,90,723 tourists have visited Kevadia till November 30 this year, generating a total income of Rs 85.57 crore.