The Statue of Unity, built in the fond memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in Kevadia, Gujarat the previous year, is once again in news. With a towering height of 182 meters, it is acclaimed to be the world’s tallest statue. On October 31 this year, soon after the statue completed the first anniversary of its grand inauguration, the social media sites have been flooded with misleading posts on how much it earned in terms of revenue and is being compared with the Taj Mahal. The misleading information claims that the revenue earned through the Statue of unity since its inauguration is thrice than that of what Taj Mahal earned annually between 2016-19 i.e., three years period.
Statue of Unity has now overtaken Taj Mahal as India’s biggest tourist attraction!
Sendhil Naathan ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಭಾನುವಾರ, ನವೆಂಬರ್ 3, 2019
World’s Tallest Statue (182 Metre High | 600 Ft) Of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, The "Statue Of Unity" Has Over Taken "Taj…
Ashwath Gaonkar ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಬುಧವಾರ, ನವೆಂಬರ್ 6, 2019
Statue of Unity Earned Three times more than the "Taj Mahal" in the last 12 months..#StatueofUnity #sardarvallabhbhaipatel pic.twitter.com/njKnQOsX9M
— Mission United India (MUI); By Narayan Singh (@narayansingh108) November 10, 2019
The Claims Made
Taj Mahal earned Rs 22.3 crores in last three years while Statue of Unity earned Rs 71.6 crore in just one year since inauguration. While Taj Mahal had 7.5 lakh visitors every year, the Statue of Unity had 26 lakh visitors till October 31, 2019.
Fact Check
Revenue from The Taj Mahal
According to the data released by the Lok Sabha, Taj Mahal witnessed around 68 lakh tourists in 2018-19, almost nine times of 7.5 lakh tourists being claimed by fake posts. Revenue earned by Taj Mahal was 77 crores. And the total annual average revenue generated from the monument in the last three years is approximately 61.4 crores, not Rs 22.3 crores. Thus, the government data goes totally against the false information being shared.
The number of visitors in 2017-18 was 64.7 lakh and the revenue earned through selling ticket was 56.5 crore.
The number of visitors in 2017-18 was 60 lakh and the revenue earned through selling ticket was 49.67 crore.
Revenue From the Statue of Unity
As far as the Statue of Unity figures are concerned, according to the website of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Trust some over 28 lakh visitors have visited the statue since its inauguration, which generated annual revenue of Rs 80.65 crore.
Another reports released by The Times of India confirms this data related to its total revenue generation So, posts claiming that the Statue of Unity collected thrice the revenue as compared to the annual average revenue of Taj Mahal is totally baseless.
Also, as the ticket fare of both these monuments are different their revenues cannot be compared just like that. While the entry fees of Taj Mahal for Indian citizen is Rs 50 per person with charges varying for foreign tourists. The ticket cost of Statue of Unity is more than double with Rs 120 per ticket.
In conclusion, the claim that the Statue of Unity earned thrice the average annual revenue of Taj Mahal is false and misleading. Rs 80.65 crore generated by Statue of Unity is definitely not the thrice amount of Rs 61.4 crore, which is the average annual revenue of Taj Mahal for the last three years.
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