The colourful permanent lighting of the Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated recently.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
From next month, tourists coming to Bengaluru will be able to go on a guided tour of the iconic landmark Vidhana Soudha. This follows the State government giving its approval to the Tourism Department’s proposal for the guided tour.
The officials of the Tourism Department said that the concept of conducting a tour of governing centres is popular abroad as well as in Delhi where visitors can get a tour of Rastrapathi Bhavan.
History, archives
“Vidhana Soudha is a historical monument in Bengaluru. During the tour, we want to give visitors more information about its history, interiors, historical elements, archives, and the functioning of the government. We want to conduct guided tours and we have prepared an internal circuit for it,” said a senior official from the Department.
While many details such as ticket prices, gate for entry, etc., are being worked out, the Tourism Department plans to divide the time into many slots between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. “We don’t want people to throng the venue all at once for security reasons. We want tourists to get a good, informational experience. Our plan is to take 30 people in at a time for a one-hour tour,” the senior official said.
Security features
The guides of each group will submit information about the visitors in their batches to security officials of Vidhana Soudha on the same day of the visit. The visitors should mandatorily have a government ID proof like Aadhaar Card or Voter’s ID to enter the premises.
On April 6, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the permanent lighting system at Vidhana Soudha which will be turned on during weekends and on special occasions.
‘Why the fee?’
However, many people have questioned why there should be an entry fee to get a tour of the governing centre of the State, which is not the case in other countries.
Published – April 08, 2025 09:33 pm IST
