I was happy with our Government’s decision in 2014 to observe today and annually - 31st October, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ (National Unity Day), as a mark of tribute to his efforts in uniting India. And today I am extremely happy as his tall statue, named as – ‘Statue of Unity’ is going to be inaugurated at Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat, in a few hours from now, at 10 am. This is the world’s tallest statue measuring 182 Metres.
Among Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s innumerable contributions to our society and to our freedom struggle and as the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of young India, what stands out is his effort and success in merging all the independent princely states which were over 500! into Indian Republic during the years 1947-1949, through peaceful negotiations. And what can be a greater example than the sensational annexation of the largest of all Kingdoms – our province, “The Hyderabad State” despite several hurdles. When negotiations failed with Hyderabad State it was through Military action, popularly known as Operation Polo and as Police Action. He was solely responsible for such integration of a complexly divided India, into one great united Country.
You may click on the underlined name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel here or above; to know more about him and also follow (on TV) the various programs dedicated to him today throughout the length and breadth of our Country.
The Sardar Patel Statue or the Statue of Unity is the world’s tallest statue, it is an engineering marvel completed in a record time of 33 months. The Sardar Patel statue is double the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York! The foundation stone for this project was laid down by Sri Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 31st October 2013 – the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. And today as the Prime minister of our country he would be dedicating to the Nation this magnificent statue of one of our greatest leaders.
Here is a list of 10 interesting features of the Sardar Patel statue:
1. Built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd at a cost of ₹2,989 crore, the Statue of Unity is made up of 1,700 tonnes of bronze and 1,850 tonnes of bronze cladding on the exterior. The interior is filled with concrete cement (180,000 cubic metres), reinforced steel (18,500 tonnes) and structured steel (6,500 tonnes).
2. If you are about 5.6 feet tall, the giant State of Unity is 100 times larger than you.
3. There are two high-speed passenger elevators in the statue’s core which take you up to the statue's chest to a viewing gallery, which can accommodate 200 tourists at a time. This is also the best place to get a bird’s eye view of the picturesque environs of the Narmada River and its dam surrounded by the Satpura and Vindhyachal hills.
4. With a three-star hotel, museum and audiovisual gallery, the government has tried to build an entire ecosystem of tourism infrastructure centred on the statue in the remote, hilly terrain.
5. The construction of the Sardar Patel statue has had its own engineering challenges, not just due to its height but also because of its location in the middle of the Narmada River and the walking pose of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The statue is designed to withstand winds of almost 180km/hour and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale.
6. Noida-based sculptor Ram V. Sutar, who designed the statue, took special care to ensure that the statue’s face resembles Patel’s facial features. For the process, around 2,000 photographs from archives were studied. Historians and people who had seen the “Iron Man” were also consulted. From a distance, it appears as if Sardar Patel is walking on water towards the Sardar Sarovar dam.
7. The Gujarat government is also building a 3.5km long highway for tourists to reach the statue from Kevadia town.
8. A 320-metre-long designer bridge connects Sadhu Island to the mainland. You can also take a boat ride.
9. Around 135 metric tonnes of iron were crowd-sourced from lakhs of villages all over India for use in the project.
10. Clicking images at the statue site will be easier with a selfie point that has a good vantage point for photography.
I am looking forward to visiting this gigantic statue and pay my respects to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who was solely responsible to bring us (Hyderabad) freedom on 17th September 1948.
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