Piyush Goyal has claimed that Statue of Unity will create an ecosystem, having the potential to generate Rs 1 lakh crore in next 4-5 years

Big prediction for Statue of Unity! Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has claimed that the world’s tallest statue in Gujarat will create an ecosystem, having the potential to generate Rs 1 lakh crore or USD 15 billion annually over the next four-five years. According to a recent PTI report, Piyush Goyal was speaking at a curtain-raiser programme of the three-day Global Exhibition on Services (GES) 2019. This event is to be held in the city of Bengaluru from November 26 to 28, 2019. It will be organised by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry along with the Confederation of India Industry (CII).

Watch | One year of Statue of Unity: ﻿ ﻿ ﻿

On October 31, 2019, the Statue of Unity completed its one year anniversary. On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Kevadia and marked the anniversary celebrations at the event. PM Modi attended the Ekta Parade in the presence of as many as 700 districts from around the country. Since the inauguration of the statue last year, the statue has witnessed a mammoth tourist footfall of around 26 lakh visitors, according to media reports. Additionally, the area around the Sardar Sarovar Dam river has been given a major facelift in this regard and several tourist attractions have opened. A slew of measures such as river rafting, Sardar Patel’s museum, jetty service to ferry tourists around the river have been developed around the statue, which has pulled massive crowds from India and from across the globe

The statue, which is built on the riverbed of Narmada, is a memorial for Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the Iron Man of India. The statue symbolises an epitome of unity as Sardar Patel played a key role in building a United India after the independence era. His birth anniversary is being celebrated on October 31 and the same date was chosen to dedicate the memorial statue to the nation. Last year, on October 31, 2018, PM Modi had dedicated the 182-metre tall statue on the auspicious occasion of 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.