Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue or Statue of unity is the largest statue in the world. Height of Statue of Unity is 182 meters or 597 feet.
This engineering marvel was made for the Sardar Patel (1875–1950), the first Indian Deputy Prime minister of India. The Statue of Unity is located around 3.5 km downstream from the Sardar Sarovar dam in Kevadia, Gujarat.
It was completed and inaugurated to the world on 31st Oct 2018 on the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.
Statue of Unity has been included in the World's greatest places on Time's magazine 2019 list.
Watch this youtube video on the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue.
The Statue of Unity at a glance
Cost | Rs 2,989 crore or $430 mn |
Height | 182 meters or 597 feet |
Location | Sardar Sarovar Dam, Statue of Unity Rd, Kevadia, Gujarat 393155 |
Material | Steel frames reinforced by concreteBrass coating with bronze cladding |
Designer | Ram V Sutar |
Dedicated to | Shri Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel |
Thought
The idea of building a Statue to commemorate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for his commendable work in the freedom struggle and integrating princely states into the Union of India is the brainchild of Shri Narendra Modi. He promulgated this thought in the summer of 2010 and sent a brief to cabinet ministers of Gujrat.
The plan to make this statue was made public on 6th Oct 2010.
Shri Narendra Modi said and we quote
“A tribute to the Iron Man of India. At 182 meters, not just in height, but it will also stand tall for historical, academic, national and spiritual values. It will be the first such big project in any tribal part of India and dedicated to subjects close to Sardar Saab – unity, good governance, and agriculture,”
Chronology
After the initial thought of building the project, the Gujarat government under Shri Narendra Modi kickstarted the project by laying the foundation stone on 31 Oct 2013, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. Tender bids for building the statue were invited in late 2013.
Larsen and Toubro, an Indian Infrastructure company won the project to build the same. L&T deployed 3000 workers and 250 engineers for the construction. The design of the statue was made by Ram V Sutar, a reputable Indian sculptor.
Michael Graves Architecture and Designs, Turner Construction supervised the project.
The project took an exact 5 years to complete from laying of the foundation stone and completed on 31st Oct 2018. It took 57 months to build the statue. The various stages in the project were
Stage 1: Planning for 15 months
Stage 2: Construction for 40 months
Stage 3: Handover in 2 months
Chronology of events:
1. Tenders were invited from Oct 2013 to Nov 2013.
2. L&T was declared the winner and its bid was accepted on 27 Oct 2014 for a sum of 2,989 crores.
3. Acquiring Iron ("Loha") from villagers across India. It is estimated 135 metric tonne iron was collected.
4. Three models of design measuring 3ft, 18 ft and 30 ft were created. Shri Ram V Sutar took a year to complete these 3 designs.
5. A detailed 3D-scan was created.
6. Construction started on 19th Dec 2015 by L & T.
7. The bronze cladding was cast in a foundry "the Jiangxi Toqine Company (JTQ)" in China.
Cost of making the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue
Statue of Unity was built for Rs 2,989 crore or $430 mn. It consumed 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel, 6,000 tonnes of structural steel, and 1,700 metric tonnes of bronze to complete this engineering marvel.
How tall is Statue of Unity?
Height of Statue of Unity is 182 meters or 597 feet. Number 182 was chosen to signify 182 legislative assemblies in Gujrat.
The structure total height is 240 m (790 ft) with 182 m (597 ft) height of the statue and 58 m (190 ft) height of the base over which it is created.
Comparison of Statue of Unity
Let us compare the Statue of Unity with other tallest statues in the world. It is almost double in height of Statue of Liberty.
Architectural Wonder
This statue is an exception to the list of tallest statues in the world. While all others are wide at the base to give strength to the construction, the statue of unity is slender having two feet of Sardar.
Features
The Statue of Unity is divided into five zones. Only three of them are open to the public.
Zone 1: It contains a memorial garden and a museum
Zone 2: This zone extends to the statue's thighs and is not open for the public.
Zone 3: It has the viewing gallery at a height of 135 meters which gives a mesmerizing view of the Sardar Sarovar dam, Narmada river and beautiful Vindhyachal mountains.
Zone 4: It is the maintenance area and not open for the public.
Zone 5: This zone is the head and shoulders
Tourism
The statue of unity has created a lot of impact on the tourism sector. It was visited by approximately 30,000 visitors every day in the last week of December. To give you a perspective 10,000 visitors visit the Statue of Liberty, USA daily.
Gujrat government is planning to open a World-class zoo near the statue. It is estimated that tourism in Kevadia, Gujrat will generate 15,000 direct jobs in the tourism sector.
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
Saradar Patel as he is popularly called is revered for integrating India as a country by unifying many princely states that were left by the British. For his commendable work, he is also popularly known as "Iron man of India".
Born on 31 Oct 1875, Sardar was a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress under Mahatma Gandhi who played an important role in the independence struggle of India.
Before becoming a political activist, he was a successful lawyer. He participated in many freedom struggle movements like the civil disobedience movement.
He also worked against alcohol consumption, untouchability, and other social reforms.
We hope you liked our views on the Statue of unity. We would welcome any thoughts that you may have on it in the comments below.
References
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