'Jail bhajiyas' a hit with Statue of Unity visitors

AHMEDABAD: After the success of the stall of 'Jail Bhajiya' opened by prison authorities at Kevadia, where the Statue of Unity stands, authorities are thinking of opening another stall. The stall is one among the nine currently running in the food court at the Statue of Unity (SoU) complex, near the Valley of Flowers. The bhajiya, especially the 'methi na gota' prepared by prisoners of Ahmedabad and Vadodara central jails is already popular in Ahmedabad.
DJP, jails, Mohan Jha, said they are in talks with the state government to set up another stall near the parking area at the SoU complex. The current stall at the SoU is run by a staff of ten prisoners - five from Ahmedabad and five from Vadodara. Vadodara Central Jail SP, Harshad Mehta, who supervises the stall, said on an average there is sales of 25-30kg of methi gota at the SoU stall, which sells at Rs 220 per kg.
"The sales could have been higher, but initially tourists streaming in to view the statue found it difficult to reach the stall due to a lot of VIP movement," said Mehta. "Also the food court is near viewpoint no. 1, which is about 1.5km from the parking area. So, many visitors are not aware of the stall," he added.
MoS, home, Pradeepsinh Jadeja said the tourist flow to the Statue of Unity is increasing day by day. "With "methi na gota" - a signature dish of Ahmedabad Central Jail bhajiya becoming popular there, we are considering the demand raised by jail authorities to give them another stall," said Jadeja.
Jail authorities are paying a yearly rent of Rs 1.5 lakh for the stall at SoU. "We are sure that once we get another stall near the parking slot the sales of gotas will shoot up and people will queue up like they do at the gota stall run by Ahmedabad Central Jail near Subhash Bridge," said Mehta.