Rajasthan News

Wonders of the world replicas in Kota to attract visitors

by RajasthanDirect
Sep 10, 2013

After being labelled as the coaching hub of the country, Kota is poised to become a major tourist attraction in the state.

Come next week and replicas of ‘Wonders of the world’ will be unveiled at Kishor Sagar Lake premises at Vallabh Bari here.

Built at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore, the project is likely to be a first in the country and is expected to draw tourists, including students from other cities, in large numbers.

“Over 150 workers including sculptors, traditional stone masons from across the state and from Agra have been burning the midnight oil and working at a feverish pace for the last one and a half years. They have sculpted replicas of the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramid of Giza, Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower among others,” said Ravindra Tyagi, chairman, Urban Improvement Trust (UIT).

The project is the brainchild of urban development and housing minister Shanti Dhariwal who has been regularly following its development. The idea was executed and funded by UIT, Kota

“Close to 1.25 lakh students come here every year from different parts of the country for coaching. Their parents also visit them. We thought of offering them something unique and interesting in terms of a place to visit. We worked on the idea of developing a park along the lake that will exhibit the replicas of some of the ‘Wonders of the world’. It will also be informative for the children,” said an elated Dhariwal.

In a week, the project will be inaugurated, he said.

Besides Taj Mahal, other replicas being sculpted are Great Pyramid of Giza, Christ the Redeemer, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Statue of Liberty and Colosseum.

The replicas though are smaller in size.

“Rs 6 crore was spent on the construction of the replicas while remaining funds were spent on other developmental activities including lighting, landscaping and re-construction of the road which is on the periphery of the park,” said Tyagi.

Stone masons from Bharatpur, Dholpur and Agra were roped in for the construction. “The replicas are very close to the original,” said a senior engineer working at the site.

The place has already started witnessing a heavy rush in the evening with people posing with the replicas for photo-ops.

“It is one of the best things to have happened in our city. We are waiting for its opening. Earlier we had to take our guests to Jaipur and other parts of the state whenever they visited us during vacation, but now this will certainly appeal to them,” said Sangeeta Jainiyani, a homemaker who was visiting the park with her family.

Fact file

The Rs 20cr-worth project is developed at the park along the Kishor Sagar Lake at Vallabh Bari in Kota.

Besides the replicas, money has been spent on building the peripheral road, lighting and landscaping

Nearly 1500 workers including stone masons, labourers, architects have been working for a year-and-a-half on the project

The project deadline was June 2013.

src: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-10/jaipur/41935942_1_replicas-kota-great-pyramid

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