In its effort to boost tourism, the Indian Railways are now planning to develop a world class railway station in Kevadiya town, which is at a distance just 3.5 km away from the Statue of Unity in Gujarat.
The foundation stone for the same is scheduled to be laid by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on December 15. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Governor Om Prakash Kohli will also be present in the foundation stone laying function, sources claimed.
The Statue of Unity, which stands at 182 meters tall, is the world’s tallest statue, twice the size of the Statue of Liberty. It is India’s tribute to India’s first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contributions. The Statue of Unity was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2018, which also marked the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, the Ironman of India.
This astounding piece of art is located in Gujarat’s Narmada district and to reach it, one has to reach Kevadiya first.
Currently, there is no direct air or train connectivity to Kevadiya. The nearest stations to Kevadiya are Vadodara (71.94 km), Bharuch (75.36 km) and Ankleshwar (77.95 km). A smaller station, Miyagam Karjan is 63.02 km from the town. People travelling by air have to first reach Surat, which is almost 83 km away from Kevadiya town. From the Ahmedabad airport, the Statue is almost 200 Km away.
During the first 10 days of its opening, the monument had already been visited by around 1 lakh tourists. But sources believed that the main issue that plagued the area was the connectivity issue. In order to resolve the same, the Indian Railways have taken up this responsibility to give the town its own world-class railway station.
“This will be a modern railway station and will see huge footfall. Other than a boost in tourism, the project will lead to development in the area, create employment among other things,” a source said.
An officer of the Western Railway said that “the plan to come up with the railway station near the statue is being implemented by the Railway Ministry after the PMO asked it to develop a state-of-the-art station with a view to increase the tourist footfall and boost local trade”. The officer informed that the Railway Board has sanctioned the conversion of 18-km Dabhoi-Chandod narrow gauge into broad gauge line and extension from Chandod to Kevadia Colony by constructing a new 32-km line.
This Statue is being seen as the latest and the biggest tourist attraction in Gujarat and the Government is trying to put in the best of their effort to ensure that this project helps in boosting the tourism sector in Gujarat.
