PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 'Statue of Unity'

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 'Statue of Unity': For this ambitious project, Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone on October 31, 2013 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. Earlier today, PM Modi tweeted “We bow to the great Sardar Patel, the stalwart who unified India and served the nation tirelessly, on his Jayanti.” Seen as a symbol of the country's unity and integrity, the statue is expected to attract 'hordes' of tourists in the same way as the Statue of Liberty does.

Kevadiya: The 'Statue of Unity' dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which is touted to be the tallest statue in the world, was inaugurated today by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Around 15,000 tourists are likely to visit the statue every day. The 182-metre tall statue was unveiled on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, the first home minister of the country. At Kevadiya, during inugration, PM Narenda Modi said “this is a project that we had thought about during the time when I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. To build the statue of unity, lakhs of farmers from all over India came together, gave their tools, portions of soil and thus, a mass movement started.”

For this ambitious project, Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone on October 31, 2013, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. Its work order was given to the engineering and construction major L&T on December 3, 2014, and it was scheduled to be completed within 42 months.

Story behind PM Modi's ambitious project to build world's tallest statue in 10 points - 

1. For the Statue of Unity, nearly 3,400 labourers and 250 engineers were working round-the-clock at the site of the statue at Sadhu Bet island on Narmada river.


2. The statue, being built at a cost of Rs 2,389 crore, is said to be the world's tallest, standing 3.2 km downstream of the Narmada dam on the islet.


3. The site includes a museum of Sardar Patel, elevators, and the viewing gallery. A memorial garden is also being developed at the base. The 306-metre walkway that reaches the base of the statue and from there to the viewing gallery and besides that, the area will also have a selfie point and a shopping point.


4. Modi had laid the foundation stone for the project on October 31, 2013, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat and inaugurated it today as the Prime Minister of India.


5. The statue will have a viewing gallery at the height of 193 metres from the sea level which can accommodate 200 visitors at a time.


6. It will have a museum on the life of Sardar Patel at the base, and two high-speed lifts will take people to the viewers' gallery, from where they can see beyond the Narmada dam. Flowers will be grown on the hillocks adjoining the statue to make the 230-hectare area look like a "valley of flowers".


7. The statue is facing the east and not exactly towards the dam as proposed earlier. Its position was finalised on the basis of shadow analysis so that it remains bright for the maximum amount of time.


8. It will also have a projection mapping facility, wherein images can be projected on its surface to create light and sound show based on Patel's life, he said.


9. The core of the statue is made up of reinforced concrete, but the surface that gives it a distinct design has been created using 553 bronze panels, with each panel having 10 to 15 micro panels.


10. To accommodate tourists in this tribal-dominated area, the state government is also constructing a 52-room three-star hotel and two "tent cities" with 250 tents. The museum will have 40,000 documents, 2,000 photographs and a research centre dedicated to Sardar Patel's life.