The 182-metre-tall ‘Statue of Unity’ dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the tallest statue in the world was unveiled on October 31.
The Statue of Unity is a statue of Indian statesman and founding father Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950) in the Narmada district of Gujarat, India. It is the world’s tallest statue, with a height of 182 metres (597 ft) or about four times as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
Vallabhbhai Patel was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement, and the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
The statue is on a river-island facing the Narmada Dam (also called the Sardar Sarovar dam) near Rajpipla, 100 kilometres southeast of the city of Vadodara.
The monument and its surroundings occupy more than 2 hectares (4.9 acres), and are surrounded by a 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi; 3,000 acres) artificial lake.
It was built by Larsen & Toubro, who received the contract for ₹29.89 billion (US$420 million) for the design, construction, and maintenance in October 2014.
The construction was started on 31 October 2014 and completed in mid-October 2018.
It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar, and was dedicated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018, the 143rd anniversary of Patel’s birth.
The statue depicts Vallabhbhai Patel, a leader of the Indian independence movement and the country’s first Deputy Prime Minister. It was constructed on an island named Sadhu Bet, 3.2 km (2.0 mi) away from and facing the Narmada Dam.
The total height of the structure from its base is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and statue of 182 m (597 ft). It is constructed with steel framing, reinforced cement concrete, and bronze cladding.
The statue’s construction took 75,000 cubic metres (2,600,000 cu ft) of concrete, 5,700 tonnes (5,600 long tons; 6,300 short tons) of steel structure, 18,500 tonnes (18,200 long tons; 20,400 short tons) of reinforced steel rods, and 22,500 tonnes (22,100 long tons; 24,800 short tons) of bronze sheets.
The statue was built on a Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money raised by the Government of Gujarat. The Government of India had allotted ₹3 billion (US$42 million) for the project in the budget from 2012 to 2016. In the 2014–15 Union Budget, ₹2 billion (US$28 million) were allocated for the construction of the statue.
Other Monuments of World:
- Statue of Unity;India;182 Metre
- Spring Temple Buddha;China;153 Metre
- Ushiku Daibutsu;Japan;120 Metre
- Statue of Liberty;USA;93 Metre
- The Motherland Calls;Russia;85 Metre
- Christ The Redeemer;Brazil;38 Metre
The Narmada is the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent, traversing 1,312 km through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat to drain into the Arabian Sea at the Gulf of Cambay. The river has a basin area of 97,410 square km and flows between the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges. The Sardar Sarovar Dam is built on the Narmada near Rajpipla in the state of Gujarat. Here are six astounding facts about this massive multipurpose water resources project.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a 1,210 m long concrete gravity dam with a proposed final height of 163 m above the deepest foundation level. At present, it stands at a height of 121.9 m.
It is world’s second largest dam in terms of volume of concrete used.
The river catchment area above the dam site is spread across 88,000 square km.
It has a spillway discharging capacity of 87,000 cumecs.
It has the longest canal network in the world and includes the Narmada Main Canal, around 2,500 km of branch canals, 5,500 km of distributaries, and other associated channels.
The 458.3km long, 1,133 cumecs capacity Narmada Main Canal in Gujarat is the largest irrigation lined canal in the world. It further extends by 74 km in Rajasthan, and has 38 off-taking branch canals being built in phases.
