Taking not only Sardar Patel on heights but also India as well, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated world’s tallest statue the ‘Statue of Unity’. This Statue is dedicated in the memories of our beloved Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel which is 182-meter-tall and is built on the banks of Narmada river on Sadhu Bet, Gujarat.
The statue got its name in the dedication of Sardar Patel, who not only served as the first home minister of independent India but also credited in uniting all 562 princely states during pre-independent India to build the Republic of India.
During the inauguration ceremony, PM Modi said: “The world’s tallest statue will remind the entire world, the future generations about the courage, capabilities, and resolution of the person who did this holy work of thwarting the conspiracy to disintegrate Mother India into pieces.” He further added saying ‘the statue will remind those who question India’s existence, that the nation was, is and will remain eternal.’
Now let’s take you to some interesting facts and figures that you all need know about our Statue Of Unity.
- With 182 meters’ of height, it makes the statue 23 meters taller than the China’s Spring Temple Buddha and almost twice the height of Statue of Liberty. The total height of Statue of Unity is 208 m (58 m base + 182 m statue).
- The statue can withstand upto 180 km/h wind speed, and earthquake measuring 6.5 Richter Scale at a depth of 10 m within 12 km radius of statue.
- The statue weighs around 7,000 tons, with total of material that is incurred in making the statue is 70,000 tons of cement, 18,500 reinforcement of steel, 6000 tons of structural steel and 1,700 metric tons of bronze used for outer cladding of the structure.
- The construction is done by L&T starting from 19 Dec. 2015 which took the period of 34 months in shaping the statue, with almost 3,400 of workforce engaged in building it and covering the project cost in 2,989 crores.
- Metal scrap used in shaping the statue mostly include the agricultural equipment scrap which is collected under ‘Loha Campaign’ from 6 lakh villages across the country.
- To reach the viewing platform at 153 m height the statue even has 2 high capacity elevators that travel with a speed of 14.4 km/h.
- A museum and a memorial is also constructed at the base showcasing Sardar Patel’s documents and artifacts accompanied with an large audio-visual exhibition gallery.
- The statue even has the 17 km long valley of flowers with over 100 variety of flowers and around the statue premises even the Selfie points have also been constructed within the 5 km of radius.
- There’s also a facility of night stay for the tourist on the banks of Narmada with the special tent city facility available that is spread across 70, 000 sq ft with over 250 tents which are be solar powered.
- The statue is divided into five zones – the first zone includes the foot, which comprises of three levels, including an exhibit floor, mezzanine and roof. It has a Memorial Garden and a large museum too. Zone 2 extends up to the statue’s thighs at 149 meters, while Zone 3 goes up to the viewing gallery at 153 meters. Zone 4 comprises the maintenance area and Zone 5 the head and shoulders.
