Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to be open for guided tours from June 1
A first-of-its-kind experience, the Guided Walking Tour of Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on Sunday. The tour of Bengaluru's iconic landmark will be open to the public from June 1.
Speaking at the inauguration, Minister of Tourism, Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil said that these tours should not be thought of as recreational.
'Vidhana Soudha is not just any other building but one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is also the temple of democracy. Whoever finishes this tour should be able to identify their role in democracy. We want visitors to dream and aspire to become a Chief Minister or a Speaker or an Opposition party leader and represent people. We want to bring out a sense of pride about Karnataka.'
90-minute tour
The tours developed by Department of Tourism and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) in association with the Speaker's Office – Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and Vidhana Soudha Security Division will take place every Sunday and second and fourth Saturdays of the month in designated time slots between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Each tour group will consist of 30 people and will take approximately 90 minutes and will be supervised by a Tour Guide, Tourist Mitra and Vidhana Soudha security personnel. 'We aim to accommodate 300 people in a day in these tours. We also plan to have separate slots for tours in English,' said Rajendra K.V., Director of Tourism Department and MD of KSTDC.
Entry fee
Entry for the tour will be given at Gate 3 of Vidhana Soudha and will then cover seven points of interest spanning approximately 1.5 kilometres. The entry fee for the tour is fixed at ₹50 per person. However, for children under the age of 16, the tickets are free, but registration is mandatory.
'We see this as a transformation programme to showcase the beauty and legacy of democracy. Only those who understand history can create history. We want every student to understand democracy and create that kind of history. That is why we have decided to make the tour free for students,' said U.T. Khader, Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Online booking
Those interested in booking tickets for the tour can do so on KSTDC's website https://kstdc.co/activities/. While currently there is an option to send an email to KSTDC and then get a controlled link for booking, soon there will be a designated ticket booking portal on the website. Limited tickets may also be available at the KSTDC helpdesk on site.
The visitors will also need to carry a physical copy of their original Aadhar card (digital copies will not be accepted) while students will need to carry a valid school ID along with original Aadhar. Foreign nationals should produce their original passports for verification at the entry point.
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