Statue of Unity

Updated on Sep 22, 2024

Edit

Comment

Designer Ram V. Sutar Dedicated to Sardar Patel Created 31 October 2013		Type Statue Height 240 m Architect Joseph Menna

Location Sadhu bet, Near Sardar Sarovar Dam, Garudeshvar weir, Gujarat, India Material Steel framing, reinforced concrete, bronze coating Beginning date 31 October 2014; 2 years ago (2014-10-31) Address Sadhu Bet, Sardar Sarovar Dam,Kevadiya Colony, Gujarat 393151 Hours Open 8 AM - 6 PM Everyday Similar Sardar Sarovar Dam, Spring Temple Buddha, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Nati, Laykyun Sekkya, Zarwani Waterfall Profiles Facebook Pinterest Twitter

The making of the world s tallest statue statue of unity

The Statue of Unity is a colossal statue of Indian statesman and independence activist Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950) who was the first Home minister of independent India and the chief adherent of Mahatma Gandhi during the non-violent Indian Independence movement; highly respected for his leadership in uniting the 562 princely states of India to form the single Union of India. It is located in the state of Gujarat, India. It is the world's tallest statue with a height of 182 metres (597 ft). It is located on a river island facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on river Narmada in Kevadiya colony, 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the city of Vadodara.

The project was first announced in 2010 and the construction of statue started in October 2013 by Larsen & Toubro, who received the contract for ₹2,989 crore (US$420 million). It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar, and was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018, the 143th anniversary of Patel's birth

Facts

It was Designed by Padma Bhushan recipient sculptor Ram V Sutar.

It is located between the Satpura and the Vindhya mountain ranges near Kevadia town in Gujarat.

Around 129 tonnes of iron implements were obtained from nearly 100 million farmers in 169,000 villages across all states for the statue.

Over 3,000 workers, including 300 engineers from Larsen & Toubro (L&T), built the statue within three-and-a-half years.

History

Narendra Modi first announced the project to commemorate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 7 October 2010 at a press conference to mark the beginning of his 10th year as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. At the time, the project was dubbed, "Gujarat's tribute to the nation". A special purpose vehicle named the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) was constituted by the Government of Gujarat for executing the project.

An outreach drive named the Statue of Unity Movement was started to support the construction of the statue. It helped collect the iron needed for the statue by asking farmers to donate their used farming instruments. By 2016, total 135 metric tonnes of scrap iron had been collected and about 109 tonnes of it was used to make the foundation of the statue after processing. A marathon entitled Run For Unity was held on 15 December 2013 in Surat and in Vadodara in support of the project.

Design and construction

The statue depicts Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India, and responsible for the conquest of hundreds of princely states to form the modern political boundary of India.

The Statue of Unity is an enlarged version of this statue in the Ahmedabad International Airport.

After studying numerous statues of Patel across the country, a team of historians, artists, and academics chose to proceed with a design submitted by the Indian sculptor, Ram V. Sutar.[a] The Statue of Unity is a much larger replica of a statue of the leader installed at Ahmedabad International Airport. Commenting on the design, Ram Sutar's son, Anil Sutar explains that "the expression, posture and pose justify the dignity, confidence, iron will as well as kindness that his personal exudes. The head is up, a shawl flung from shoulders and hands are on the side as if he is set to walk". Three models of the design measuring 3 feet (0.91 m), 18 feet (5.5 m), and 30 feet (9.1 m) were initially created. Once the design of the largest model was approved, a detailed 3D-scan was produced which formed the basis for the bronze cladding cast in a foundry in China.

Patel's dhoti-clad legs and the use of sandals for footwear rendered the design thinner at the base than at the top thereby affecting its stability. This was addressed by maintaining a slenderness ratio of 16:19 rather than the customary 8:14 ratio of other tall buildings.The statue is built to withstand winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour (110 mph) and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale which are at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue. This is aided by the use of two 250-tonne tuned mass dampers which ensure maximum stability.

The total height of the structure is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and statue of 182 m (597 ft).[1] The height of 182 was specifically chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Funding

The statue was built by Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money raised by the Government of Gujarat. The Gujarat state government had allotted ₹600 crore (equivalent to ₹677 crore or US$94 million in 2018) for the project in the budget from 2012 to 2015. In the 2014–15 Union Budget, ₹200 crore (equivalent to ₹239 crore or US$33 million in 2018) were allocated for the construction of the statue. Funds were also contributed by Public Sector Undertakings under Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.

References

Statue of Unity Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA