Tourists visiting Mumbai will soon be able to watch a ceremonial drill at the state police headquarters on the lines of the famous ‘Changing The Guard’ ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The announcement was made by Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray here.
The government is also considering allowing tourists to walk through the headquarters of the BMC, which is a heritage structure dating to colonial era, he said. “Our ceremony is very colourful and the Director General of Police’s office will have the ceremonial drill just like the one at Buckingham Palace,” Thackeray said, speaking at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The police headquarters, which housed the state legislature in the past, is located near the Gateway of India, a major tourist attraction. Thackeray said the government wants to develop Mumbai as the “Gateway to India”.
A policy on beach shacks would be rolled out within a month, he said, stating that the 700-km long coastline of Maharashtra offers immense tourism potential. Plans are afoot to provide night landing facility at the airport at Shirdi which houses a famous Saibaba temple, and to create additional parking facility at the Kolhapur airport, Thackeray added.
