Statue of Unity
The Statue of Unity is an iconic 182 meters tall tribute to one of India’s foremost Statesmen and leaders – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The statue is neither meant for merely taking pride in its magnitude nor will it stand like a silent memorial. Rather a special work plan has been designed to make this statue a vibrant working centre. The ‘Statue of Unity’ is being built not only to remember India’s freedom struggle but also to inculcate Sardar Patels’s visionary ideology of unity, patriotism, inclusive growth and good governance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation Statue of Unity, built in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at Kevadiya in Narmada district of Gujarat 01 November 2018. Unveiling the 182-meter statue of the Iron Man of India, world's tallest, on his 143rd birth anniversary, Prime Minister said Sardar Patel's statue will remind the world about the courage of the man who thwarted attempts to disintegrate India.
He said had Sardar Patel not united the country, we would need the visa to see lions or pay homage at Somnath or view Charminar in Hyderabad. He said Sardar Patel's statue will remind those who question India's existence that this nation was, is and will remain eternal. Modi described the Statue of Unity as a symbol of the country's engineering and technical capabilities. Gujarat Governor O P Kohli, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and BJP chief Amit Shah were present at the unveiling of the 'Statue of Unity'.
Modi said his government was toiling in line with Patel’s dreams to create a “strong, alert and inclusive India”. Referring to criticism over construction of the project, Modi said the BJP is censured even when it praises great leaders like Patel. “Is it (praising great leaders) a crime?” Modi asked the gathering present at the unveiling ceremony. “It was the sentiment of crores of Indians that the man who united the country should get the honour he deserved,” the prime minister said. It was the responsibility of the people to give a befitting reply to efforts “aimed at dividing the country”, he said.
“The world’s tallest statue will remind the entire world, the future generations about the courage, capabilities and resolution of the person who did the holy work of thwarting the conspiracy to disintegrate Mother India into pieces,” Modi said. Had Patel not united the country, people would need a visa to see lions in the Gir Forest National Park, pay homage at Somnath or view the Charminar in Hyderabad, the prime minister said.
The imposing monument is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US and is built on an islet, Sadhu Bet, near the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat's Narmada district. A viewing gallery has been created at a height of 135 meters inside the statue to enable tourists to have a view of the dam and nearby mountain ranges. Near the statue, Modi also unveiled the ‘Wall of Unity’ which has been created with the earth samples collected from various states across the country. As part of the effort to make the region around the statue a tourist spot, many projects like Valley of Flowers and Tent City have been developed.
The work of 182-meter tall statue has been completed after round the clock work by 3,400 labourers and 250 engineers at Sadhu Bet island on Narmada River in Gujarat. Briefing media persons in Gandhinagar, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel has said that state government is planning to celebrate this historic event on a big scale. He said that Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada river which is the lifeline of Gujarat was a dream of Sardar Patel and the work of this dam has also been completed recently. AIR Ahmedabad correspondent reports from the site of the Statue of Unity project that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today reviewed the ongoing work and preparations of its unveiling function.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of this project on 31 October 2013 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. The world's tallest - the Statue of Unity- has been built at the cost of about Rs.2400 crore. The core of the statue is made up of reinforced concrete while the surface has been created by using 553 bronze panels.
Standing at 3 kilometers downstream of the Narmada dam on Sadhu bet island, the statue has a viewing gallery at the height of 193 meters from sea level which can accommodate 200 visitors at a time. The museum on the life of Sardar Patel is at the base, and two high-speed lifts will take people to the viewers' gallery. According to sources, around 15,000 tourists are expected to visit the statue on daily basis. The Statue of Unity has been built using over 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel, 6,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1,700 metric tonnes of bronze, which was used for the outer cladding of the structure.
The ‘Statue of Unity’ is a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It symbolizes Patel’s impeccable work of uniting the disintegrated groups of nearly 565 princely states after the independence and building the Indian State. It stands as a tribute to the extraordinary administrative skills and bravery shown by the then home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in uniting India after the bloody and painful partition. The Sardar’s 182 meters high first of its kind statue will undoubtedly lead to development of tourism with tourists inflow from all across the globe to visit India to admire its beauty and salute the man behind the Indian spirit and unity.
The work order for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project 'Statue of Unity' the world's tallest statue of India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, has been issued by the Gujarat government to leading engineering company Larsen and Toubro (L&T). Work on the 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Patel is to be completed at a cost of Rs 2,979 crore, which is far more than the total sum of Rs 700 crores allocated so far. But, by declaring it a National project, the government has ensured speedy construction and adequate funding to the project.
"This huge construction work will be completed in four years at a cost of Rs 2,979 crore. The contract has been given to the country's leading construction company Larsen and Toubro", said Gujarat Chief Minister Smt. Anandiben Patel. Rs 1347 crore will be spent on the main statue, Rs 235 crore will be spent on the exhibition hall and convention centre, while Rs 83 crore will be spent on the bridge connecting the memorial to the main land and Rs 657 crore would be spent to maintain the structure until 15 years after it is completed. The 182-metre-tall 'Statue of Unity', which would be double the size of New York's 'Statue of Liberty' (93 metres), would inspire future generations. The project will include an exhibition hall and audio- visual presentation on the life of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which will become the centre of attraction for tourists from the all over the world. 75,000 cubic metres of concrete, 5,700 metric tonne of steel structure, 18,500 steel rods and 22,500 metric tonne of bronze will be used for the project. It goes without saying that the 'Statue of Unity' project will generate employment in the tribal area of Narmada district as well as boost the tourism sector.
The project was launched by the former Gujarat Chief Minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2013, on Sardar Patel's birth anniversary. Shri Modi had also launched a country wide campaign to collect iron to build the 'Statue of Unity' and the Gujarat government has claimed that iron was collected from around seven lakh villages across the nation.
It’s indeed a moment of pride for Gujarat that a leader from its soil is getting the honour of getting erected at an unprecedented height. No wonder the whole Gujarat would love to bow before him. But, restricting Sardar Patel to Gujarat will be a dishonour to his work. His work, although started from the state, steadily crossed all the borders to leave an impact over the world and humanity in general. The words of Sardar Patel still resonate all over the world therefore there is no wonder this project was declared as a national one.
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