PM Modi Launches 'Rain Forest' at Ekta Nagar on Unity Day
Synopsis
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a ₹9.49 crore 'Rain Forest' at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, on Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2026. Spanning 47,000 sq m, it features a 220-metre glass deck skywalk bridge, adding a major nature-adventure attraction to the Statue of Unity tourism precinct.
Key Takeaways
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the 'Rain Forest' attraction at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat on 31 October 2026 , Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
The project covers 47,000 square metres and was built at a cost of ₹9.49 crore .
The centrepiece is a 220-metre-long glass deck skywalk bridge offering panoramic forest and valley views.
The launch continues a pattern of adding experiential tourism facilities to the Statue of Unity precinct since its 2018 inauguration.
Rashtriya Ekta Diwas — Sardar Patel's birth anniversary — has served as the symbolic launch date for major Ekta Nagar milestones.
On the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, 31 October 2026, a new chapter in adventure tourism opened at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat — Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a sprawling 'Rain Forest' attraction that adds a bold, immersive dimension to India's most visited unity monument destination.
Built across 47,000 square metres at a cost of ₹9.49 crore, the Rain Forest experience is anchored by a 220-metre-long glass deck skywalk bridge — a canopy-level corridor that places visitors eye-to-eye with the forest canopy and delivers what the Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat described as 'a thrilling experience of beholding nature's panoramic beauty.' The post, shared in Gujarati, celebrated the inauguration as 'prkrti ane romanchno anokho sangam' — 'a unique confluence of nature and adventure.'
Ekta Nagar's expanding tourism blueprint
Ekta Nagar — the township that grew up around the Statue of Unity, inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi in October 2018 — has steadily evolved from a single monumental landmark into a full-spectrum visitor destination. Over the years, successive additions including a jungle safari, a butterfly garden, a cactus garden, and a children's nutrition park have expanded the site's appeal well beyond the statue itself. The Rain Forest is the latest and most ambitious natural-adventure addition to that inventory.
The glass deck skywalk is the centrepiece. At 220 metres in length, it rivals skywalks at established international eco-tourism destinations, offering unobstructed sightlines across the forest floor and the Narmada River valley below. The design philosophy — building into rather than over nature — signals a deliberate push to attract experiential travellers, not just pilgrims to the Statue.
National Unity Day as a launch stage
Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, observed every year on 31 October to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, has functioned as the symbolic calendar anchor for major announcements at Ekta Nagar since the Statue of Unity itself was unveiled on this date in 2018. Launching the Rain Forest on the same day is a deliberate layering of national sentiment onto a tourism investment — the message being that the site is not merely a monument but a living, growing tribute to Patel's vision of a unified India.
For Gujarat's tourism economy, the stakes are straightforward: Ekta Nagar already draws millions of visitors annually, and each new facility raises the average duration of a stay, which in turn lifts local hospitality and commerce. The ₹9.49 crore price tag for 47,000 sq m of developed forest experience represents a relatively modest public outlay for the footfall multiplier it is designed to generate.
The real test will come in the numbers — tourist dwell time, ticket revenues, and whether the skywalk earns the Instagram reach that drives repeat visitation in modern eco-tourism. If it does, expect more such nature-adventure layers to follow at Ekta Nagar in the years ahead.
Point of View
Reducing Gujarat's dependence on the Statue of Unity as a single-draw attraction. By scheduling the inauguration on Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, the BJP-led state and central governments reinforce the site's identity as a national-sentiment landmark, not merely a regional tourism asset. The glass skywalk format — photogenic, shareable, globally familiar — signals a conscious effort to attract younger, experience-driven visitors alongside the traditional pilgrimage crowd. The modest ₹9.49 crore investment, if it meaningfully lifts dwell time and per-visitor spend, will likely greenlight further nature and adventure add-ons at the precinct.
NationPress
31 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Rain Forest at Ekta Nagar?
The Rain Forest is a new nature-and-adventure tourism attraction at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on 31 October 2026. It spans 47,000 square metres and features a 220-metre glass deck skywalk bridge above the forest canopy.
How much did the Ekta Nagar Rain Forest cost?
The Rain Forest project was built at a cost of ₹9.49 crore across a 47,000 square metre area at Ekta Nagar.
What is the glass skywalk at Ekta Nagar?
The skywalk is a 220-metre-long glass deck bridge that allows visitors to walk at canopy level through the Rain Forest, offering panoramic views of the natural surroundings and the Narmada River valley.
Why was the Rain Forest launched on 31 October?
31 October is Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Statue of Unity itself was inaugurated on this date in 2018, making it the traditional occasion for major announcements at Ekta Nagar.
What other attractions are at Ekta Nagar besides the Statue of Unity?
Ekta Nagar has expanded over the years to include a jungle safari, butterfly garden, cactus garden, children's nutrition park, and now the Rain Forest with its glass skywalk bridge, all designed to extend the visitor experience beyond the Statue of Unity.
