Bengaluru: It’s a big day in the history of Gujarat as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Arogya Van. 

Arogya Van is a garden housing medicinal plants and herbs, near the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya village of Gujarat's Narmada district. 

 

It is spread over an area of about 17 acres, displaying a wide range of medicinal plants which play an important role in the well-being of human beings.

It is one of the 17 projects to be inaugurated by the PM on Friday and Saturday near the Statue of Unity. 

A towering monument dedicated to Sardar Patel which has emerged as a popular tourist attraction in Gujarat.

The health forest also emphasises on the importance of yoga, ayurveda and meditation in people's lives.

Five lakh plants of 380 selected species have been grown in the sprawling garden, the release said.

The Arogya Van comprises a lotus pond, alba garden, aroma garden, yoga and meditation garden, indoor plant section, digital information centre, souvenir shop and a cafeteria serving ayurveda foods, among other things, it said.

Modi also visited the digital information centre and the indoor plant garden created inside the Arogya Van.

The PM moved around in the Arogya Van on a golf cart and also interacted with guides posted there for the benefit of tourists.

More on the Statue of Liberty: 

 

1. The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue at 182 metres or 597 feet.
2. The height of 182 was specifically chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.
3. It is constructed on a river island named Sadhu Bet which is 3.2 km away from and faces the Narmada Dam downstream.
4. The giant statue and its surroundings occupy more than 4.9 acres as per sources.
5. It is also surrounded by a 12-km long artificial lake formed by the Garudeshwar weir downstream on the Narmada river.
6. The statue is built to withstand winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour or 110 mph and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale which are at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue.