Statue of Unity footfall logs 30.5% rise, crosses pre-pandemic numbers
NEW DELHI: Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue commemorating India’s first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, has recorded a marked increase in average daily footfall of tourists, surpassing the prepandemic figures and becoming one of the most visited non-religious destinations in the country, according to officials who have access to the data.
“The average daily tourist footfall at present is 12,369 as against 10,194 during the preCovid period, marking a jump of 21%,” said a Union government official familiar with the matter. “On weekends, the footfall has increased to 18,187 per day as against the pre-Covid figure of 13,937, a 30.5% increase.”
The highest one-day footfall at the 182-metre-tall statue has also seen a sharp increase, the official added. “During pre-Covid period, maximum footfalls of 34,136 and 34,674 were recorded on August 20, 2019 and December 29, 2019, respectively. In recent times, the maximum footfalls were recorded at 50,108 on November 6, 2021 and 51,871 the following day,” the official said.
The statue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his home state Gujarat on October 31, 2018.
Since its inauguration, 7.94 million people have visited the Statue of Unity so far, another official said. “Before Covid-19 struck, 4.42 million people had visited it in less than 15 months. Since then, the tourist footfall was affected due to two lockdowns and two periods of restricted entry. Since June 8, 2021, tourist footfall has even crossed the pre-Covid daily averages,” the official added.