Perched on the highest hill Jakhu (8,500ft) of Shimla, the 108 -foot-high statue of Hanuman is now a tourist attraction. A year after being installed, the statue has become a prominent landmark similar to the historic Christ Church on the Ridge.

Professional photographers are often seen enticing visitors to get photographs clicked with statue of the monkey God in the background. R S Thakur, a professional photographer for the past 20 years on the Ridge said, "Earlier, visitors to Shimla would ask for photographs to be clicked with Christ Church, Gaiety theatre and the hills in the backdrop, now they often inquire if Hanuman statue could be made visible as the photo background."

Meanwhile, things are set to change in the new year 2012 in Shimla, as the state tourism department has planned to set up a 24 hour coffee outlet here. It is expected this initiative would boost night life in the state.

The round the clock coffee outlet would be made in the almost abandoned building of the tourism department on the bypass leading to Shimla and Chandigarh. Tourism director Arun Sharma and officials visited the site on Tuesday.

Tourism director Arun Sharma said, "The process to open the first 24hour coffee shop is on. The tourism building would be given on lease to a private firm that would run the outlet." He said more such shops would be opened in the future.

TOI