Vadodara: There is some good news for footloose Gujaratis.
The world’s tallest statue in Kevadia, Narmada, has opened for tourists again.
With the second wave of Covid ebbing, the Statue of Unity (SoU) management has started accepting new bookings from Tuesday.
The first day, though, saw only about 1,500 visitors at the statue.
SoU spokesperson said that, unlike last year, the venue wasn’t closed completely for the tourists this time.
“In the first wave, entry was closed for all the visitors for nearly seven months.
But this time, we allowed only those visitors who had done advance booking.
When the second wave started, no new bookings were taken,” said the spokesperson.
The SoU management has decided to open all the attractions for the tourists within the next couple of days.
Apart from the statue of Sardar Patel, the jungle safari, glow garden, Ekta nursery, rafting and the cruise too will be open for bookings.
The authorities are expecting a heavy rush of tourists and hence the staff has been asked to follow all the Covid protocols.
The visitors will have to wear face masks and maintain social distance.
Unlike last year, no limit has been kept on the daily entry of the number of tourists this time.
After it was opened for the tourists in 2018, the SoU has attracted lakhs of tourists and the numbers kept increasing as the management added various attractions every few months.