Mumbai to soon start Buckingham Palace-like drill to woo tourists

Mumbai will soon be starting the Change of Guard ceremony at the Maharashtra police headquarters in Colaba. The move will be on lines similar to that of the world-famous ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. Tourists will now be able to watch a ceremonial drill similar to the changing of the guard ceremony here in Mumbai, without even going to Buckingham. As per reports, this ceremony will be open for the public to witness every Sunday, starting from May 1, 2020.

The same was recently announced by Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray. Reports state that the government is also planning to allow tourists to walk through the headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which is a well-known heritage structure dating to the colonial era. Referring to this drill, the Tourism Minister stated that the ceremony will be very colourful and the Director-General of Police’s office will have a ceremonial drill just like the one at Buckingham Palace.
Currently, this activity can be seen only at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, and the Daily Retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah Border in Punjab.
Talking about this ceremony, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh stated that it will be an exciting sight for the public to watch and that it will be an added attraction for the tourists who visit areas like the Gateway of India and other parts of South Mumbai. He further added that the idea was finalised in a meeting with Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, and they visited the DGP office on Tuesday to finalise the plan.
The Change of Guard ceremony at the Buckingham Palace is a colourful, elaborate, and spectacular affair that lasts for nearly 45 min on certain days every week, which is also a part of the sight-seeing itinerary in London. Adding that the similar drill will now be available in Mumbai too, with a parade and police band playing to mark the Changing of Guard from one shift to another, this will be a sight to enjoy.

The police headquarters is located near the Gateway of India, which is also a major tourist attraction. The Minister also stated that the government is planning to develop Mumbai as the ‘Gateway of India’, and that a policy on beach shacks will soon be rolled out as Maharashtra offers immense potential for beach tourism with 700 km long coastline.