Key Highlights

• Morning tribute: PM Modi is scheduled to offer floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Statue of Unity at around 9 a.m.
• 31 projects, Rs 426.71 crore: 23 projects worth Rs 307.83 crore will be inaugurated, and foundation stones will be laid for eight projects worth Rs 118.88 crore.
• New attractions: These include a Rs 50-crore IRCTC hotel, the Rs 16-crore Ekta Cruise, a Rs 14.30-crore Rain Forest and a Rs 3.67-crore Eco Trail.
• Evening celebrations: At around 5:30 p.m., the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas programme will feature the Ekta Parade with Central Armed Police Forces, state police and central police organisations.
• ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat’ on stage: Around 2,000 artistes from 126 districts affected by Left-Wing Extremism will take part in a National School of Drama production.

Eight years after it was dedicated to the nation, the Statue of Unity is becoming much more than a monument. On Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 151st birth anniversary, Ekta Nagar in Gujarat’s Narmada district is getting a hotel, a cruise, a rain forest, an eco trail and a long list of civic upgrades, all on one day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to pay floral tributes at the 182-metre statue at around 9 a.m. on Saturday. After that, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for 31 tourism and infrastructure projects in the Statue of Unity area, with a combined outlay of Rs 426.71 crore.

Of these, 23 projects worth Rs 307.83 crore will be inaugurated, and foundation stones will be laid for eight projects worth Rs 118.88 crore. The headline additions are an IRCTC hotel built for Rs 50 crore, the Rs 16-crore Ekta Cruise, a Rain Forest attraction worth Rs 14.30 crore and an Eco Trail costing Rs 3.67 crore.

Most visitors will never notice the rest of the list, but they will benefit from it: sewage and water treatment plants, travelators, a parade track, staff quarters, better roads, facade lighting on the Statue of Unity campus and the development of Ekta Prakash Parv. Together, these turn Ekta Nagar from a one-stop sightseeing visit into a place where people can stay longer. Speaking ahead of the celebrations, an official noted that Ekta Nagar has become a major tourist destination built around the world’s tallest statue.

From a Monument to a Destination

The scale of this year’s package continues a familiar pattern. On the eve of last year’s 150th anniversary, PM Modi inaugurated and dedicated projects worth Rs 1,220 crore at the same complex. October 31 has been observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas since 2014, and the statue itself was dedicated on that day in 2018. Patel, independent India’s first Home Minister, was born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad, Gujarat.

The build-up started on Friday. PM Modi visited ‘Ekta Prakash Parv-2026’, an illumination festival divided into four zones that show the cultural traditions of North, East, West and South India. On Saturday, he is also expected to visit the Rain Forest and Vaman Vriksha Vatika before the main Rashtriya Ekta Diwas programme at around 5:30 p.m.

The evening will carry a clear message. Along with the Ekta Parade, the National School of Drama will stage a production on ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat’ with around 2,000 artistes from 126 districts affected by Left-Wing Extremism. Ahead of the event, officials had said this year’s parade would highlight the end of armed Naxalism. Tableaux and cultural performances on the theme ‘Vande Mataram’ will bring together around 5,000 artistes from across the country.

For the visitors who will walk these new trails and ride the new cruise in the months ahead, Patel’s birthday is becoming a reason to visit Ekta Nagar, not just a date on the calendar.

(With inputs from IANS)

Key Highlights

• Morning tribute: PM Modi is scheduled to offer floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Statue of Unity at around 9 a.m.
• 31 projects, Rs 426.71 crore: 23 projects worth Rs 307.83 crore will be inaugurated, and foundation stones will be laid for eight projects worth Rs 118.88 crore.
• New attractions: These include a Rs 50-crore IRCTC hotel, the Rs 16-crore Ekta Cruise, a Rs 14.30-crore Rain Forest and a Rs 3.67-crore Eco Trail.
• Evening celebrations: At around 5:30 p.m., the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas programme will feature the Ekta Parade with Central Armed Police Forces, state police and central police organisations.
• ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat’ on stage: Around 2,000 artistes from 126 districts affected by Left-Wing Extremism will take part in a National School of Drama production.

Eight years after it was dedicated to the nation, the Statue of Unity is becoming much more than a monument. On Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 151st birth anniversary, Ekta Nagar in Gujarat’s Narmada district is getting a hotel, a cruise, a rain forest, an eco trail and a long list of civic upgrades, all on one day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to pay floral tributes at the 182-metre statue at around 9 a.m. on Saturday. After that, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for 31 tourism and infrastructure projects in the Statue of Unity area, with a combined outlay of Rs 426.71 crore.

Of these, 23 projects worth Rs 307.83 crore will be inaugurated, and foundation stones will be laid for eight projects worth Rs 118.88 crore. The headline additions are an IRCTC hotel built for Rs 50 crore, the Rs 16-crore Ekta Cruise, a Rain Forest attraction worth Rs 14.30 crore and an Eco Trail costing Rs 3.67 crore.

Most visitors will never notice the rest of the list, but they will benefit from it: sewage and water treatment plants, travelators, a parade track, staff quarters, better roads, facade lighting on the Statue of Unity campus and the development of Ekta Prakash Parv. Together, these turn Ekta Nagar from a one-stop sightseeing visit into a place where people can stay longer. Speaking ahead of the celebrations, an official noted that Ekta Nagar has become a major tourist destination built around the world’s tallest statue.

From a Monument to a Destination

The scale of this year’s package continues a familiar pattern. On the eve of last year’s 150th anniversary, PM Modi inaugurated and dedicated projects worth Rs 1,220 crore at the same complex. October 31 has been observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas since 2014, and the statue itself was dedicated on that day in 2018. Patel, independent India’s first Home Minister, was born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad, Gujarat.

The build-up started on Friday. PM Modi visited ‘Ekta Prakash Parv-2026’, an illumination festival divided into four zones that show the cultural traditions of North, East, West and South India. On Saturday, he is also expected to visit the Rain Forest and Vaman Vriksha Vatika before the main Rashtriya Ekta Diwas programme at around 5:30 p.m.

The evening will carry a clear message. Along with the Ekta Parade, the National School of Drama will stage a production on ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat’ with around 2,000 artistes from 126 districts affected by Left-Wing Extremism. Ahead of the event, officials had said this year’s parade would highlight the end of armed Naxalism. Tableaux and cultural performances on the theme ‘Vande Mataram’ will bring together around 5,000 artistes from across the country.

For the visitors who will walk these new trails and ride the new cruise in the months ahead, Patel’s birthday is becoming a reason to visit Ekta Nagar, not just a date on the calendar.

(With inputs from IANS)