Statue of Unity
21°50′17″N 73°43′09″E / 21.8380°N 73.7191°E / 21.8380; 73.7191
LocationNarmada Valley Kevadiya, Narmada, Gujarat, India
DesignerRam V. Sutar
TypeStatue
MaterialSteel framing, reinforced by concrete and brass coating, bronze cladding[1]
Height182 meters (597 ft)
Visitors2.8 million[2] (in 2018-19)
Beginning date31 October 2013 (2013-10-31)
Completion date30 October 2018
Opening date31 October 2018
Dedicated toVallabhbhai Patel
Websitestatueofunity.in

The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue, with a height of 182 metres (597 feet),[3] located near Kevadia in the state of Gujarat, India. It depicts Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950), who was the first deputy prime minister and home minister of independent India and an adherent of Mahatma Gandhi. Patel is highly respected for playing a significant role in the political integration of India. The statue is located in Gujarat on the Narmada River in the Kevadiya colony, facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the city of Vadodara.[4]

The project was first announced in 2010, and construction started in October 2013 by Indian company Larsen & Toubro, with a total construction cost of ₹27 billion (US$422 million).[5] It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar and was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on 31 October 2018, the 143rd anniversary of Patel's birth.[6]

History

Narendra Modi announced the project on 7 October 2013 to mark the beginning of his tenth year as the chief minister of Gujarat.[7]

A society named Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) was formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Gujarat, to execute the project.[7][8]

Statue of Unity Movement was started in 2013 to collect the iron needed for the statue by asking farmers to donate their used farming instruments.[7][9] By 2016, a total of 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.[10] A marathon titled Run For Unity was held on 15 December 2013 in Surat and Vadodara in support of the project.[11]

Design and construction

Vallabhbhai Patel was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement and responsible for the unification of 562 princely states to form the modern political boundary of India.[12]

Design

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

After studying statues of Patel across the country, a team of historians, artists, and academics chose a design submitted by the Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar.[lower-alpha 1] The Statue of Unity is a larger version 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 personality 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.[10][14]

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.[10] 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.[1][10] This is aided by the use of two 250 tonne tuned mass dampers ensuring maximum stability.[15][16]

The total height of the structure is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and the statue measuring 182 m (597 ft).[1] The height of 182 metres was specifically chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.[7][10]

Funding

The Statue of Unity was built by a Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money coming from the Government of Gujarat. The Gujarat state government had allotted ₹500 crore (equivalent to ₹755 crore or US$94 million in 2023) for the project in its budget from 2012 to 2015.[17][18] In the 2014–15 Union Budget, ₹200 crore (equivalent to ₹320 crore or US$40 million in 2023) was allocated for the construction of the statue.[19][20][21] Funds were also contributed by Public Sector Undertakings under the Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.[22]

Construction

Statue of Unity under construction in August 2016
The statue under construction in January 2018
Approximate heights of various notable statues:
  1. Statue of Unity 240 m (790 ft) (incl. 58 m (190 ft) base)
  2. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m (502 ft) (incl. 25 m (82 ft) pedestal and 20 m (66 ft) throne)
  3. Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) 93 m (305 ft) (incl. 47 m (154 ft) pedestal)
  4. The Motherland Calls 87 m (285 ft) (incl. 2 m (6 ft 7 in) pedestal)
  5. Christ the Redeemer 38 m (125 ft) (incl. 8 m (26 ft) pedestal)
  6. Michelangelo's David 5.17 m (17.0 ft) (excl. 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) plinth)

A consortium comprising Turner Construction, Michael Graves and Associates and the Meinhardt Group supervised the project. The project took 57 months to complete – 15 months for planning, 40 months for construction and 2 months for handing over by the consortium.[23] The total cost of the project was estimated to be about ₹2,063 crore (equivalent to ₹33 billion or US$410 million in 2023) by the Government.[17] The tender bids for the first phase were invited in October 2013 and were closed in November 2013.[24]

Narendra Modi, then serving as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the statue's foundation stone on 31 October 2013, the 138th anniversary of Patel's birth.[25][26]

Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro won the contract on 27 October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (equivalent to ₹48 billion or US$600 million in 2023) for the design, construction and maintenance of the statue.[27][28] L&T commenced the construction on 31 October 2014. In the first phase of the project, ₹1,347 crore was earmarked for the main statue, ₹235 crore for the exhibition hall and convention centre, ₹83 crore for the bridge connecting the memorial to the mainland and ₹657 crore for the maintenance of the structure for a duration of 15 years after its completion.[27][28] The Sadhu Bet hillock was flattened from 70 metres to 55 metres to lay the foundation of the statue.[10]

L&T employed over 3000 workers and 250 engineers in the statue's construction. The core of the statue used 210,000 cubic metres (7,400,000 cu ft) of cement and concrete, 6,500 tonnes of structural steel, and 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel. The outer façade is made up of 1,700 tonnes of bronze plates and 1,850 tonnes of bronze cladding which in turn consists of 565 macro and 6000 micro panels. The bronze panels were cast in Jiangxi Tongqing Metal Handicrafts Co. Ltd (the TQ Art foundry) in China as facilities large enough for such casting were unavailable in India.[29][30][10] The bronze panels were transported over sea and then by road to a workshop near the construction site where they were assembled.[10]

Local tribals belonging to the Tadvi tribe opposed the land acquisition for the development of tourism infrastructure around the statue.[31] Around 300 activists were arrested ahead of unveiling of the statue.[32] People of Kevadia, Kothi, Waghodia, Limbdi, Navagam, and Gora villages opposed the construction of the statue and demanded the restitution of the land rights over 375 hectares (927 acres) of land acquired earlier for the dam as well as for the formation of a new Garudeshwar subdistrict. They also opposed the formation of Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA) and the construction of the Garudeshwar weir-cum-causeway project. The government of Gujarat accepted most of their demands.[33]

Construction of the monument was completed in mid-October 2018; and the inaugural ceremony was held on 31 October 2018 (143rd birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel), and was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[34][35] The statue has been described as a tribute to Indian engineering skills.[36]

Features

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the museum within the complex

The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue at 182 metres (597 ft). It rises 54 metres (177 ft) higher than the previous record holder, the Spring Temple Buddha in China's Henan province.[37] The previous tallest statue in India was the 41 m (135 ft) tall statue of Lord Hanuman at the Paritala Anjaneya Temple near Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The statue can be seen within a 7 km (4.3 mi) radius.[10]

The monument is constructed on a river island named Sadhu Bet, 3.2 km (2.0 mi) away from and facing the Narmada Dam downstream.[1] The statue and its surroundings occupy more than 2 hectares (4.9 acres),[38] and are surrounded by a 12 km (7.5 mi) long artificial lake formed by the Garudeshwar weir downstream on the Narmada river.[39][10]

The statue is divided into five zones of which only three are accessible to the public. From its base to the level of Patel's shins is the first zone which has three levels and includes the exhibition area, mezzanine and roof. The first zone also contains a memorial garden and a museum. The second zone reaches up to Patel's thighs, while the third extends up to the viewing gallery at a height of 153 metres. The fourth zone is the maintenance area while the final zone comprises the head and shoulders of the statue.[40][10]

The museum in the first zone catalogues Patel's life and contributions. An adjoining audio-visual gallery provides a 15-minute long presentation on Patel and also describes the tribal culture of the state.[10] The concrete towers which form the statue's legs contain two elevators each. Each lift can carry 26 people at a time to the viewing gallery in just over 30 seconds. The gallery is located at a height of 153 metres (502 ft) and can hold up to 200 people.[41][42]

Tourism

Over 128,000 tourists visited the statue in the first eleven days of its opening to the public on 1 November 2018.[43] It has been included in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's '8 Wonders of SCO' list.[44] In its first year of operation, the Statue of Unity attracted 2,900,000 visitors and collected ₹82 crore (US$11.64 million) in ticket revenue.[45] By 15 March 2021, 5 million tourists visited the venue.[46] It was visited by 10 million people by November 2022.[47] In five years since opening, the statue attracted over 15 million cumulative visitors.[48]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ According to a senior Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNL) official, the Gujarat government initially hired an American consultant who commissioned sculptor Joseph Menna to create the Statue of Unity's first digital proof-of-the-concept model. However, once they realised that Menna's model was an adaptation of Ram Sutar's statue of Patel at Ahmedabad airport, the government directed L&T to avail the services of Sutar himself.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gujarat: Sardar Patel statue to be twice the size of Statue of Liberty". CNN-IBN. 30 October 2013. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  2. ↑ Dave, Kapil (23 October 2019). "In 11 months, Statue of Unity got 2.6 million visitors Ahmedabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Statue: Statue of Unity location, height, cost, other facts". The Indian Express. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Gujarat". The Times of India. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  5. ↑ "Statue of Unity: World's tallest statue constructed in record 33 months". The Economic Times. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "PM Unveils Sardar Patel's 2,900-Crore Statue of Unity Today: 10 Facts". MSN. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "For iron to build Sardar Patel statue, Modi goes to farmers". The Indian Express. 8 July 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  8. ↑ "Statue of Unity". statueofunity.in. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "Pan-India panel for Modi's unity show in iron". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Raja, Aditi (23 September 2018). "Iron Man 2.0". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "Large number of people run for unity". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  12. ↑ Menon, V.P. (15 September 1955). Integration of the Indian States. Bangalore: Orient Blackswan. ISBN 8125054510.
  13. ↑ John, Paul (30 October 2016). "Iron man statue is outsourcing magnet". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  14. ↑ Dave, Hiral (14 October 2018). "Behind the making of Statue of Unity". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "India Unveils 'Statue of Unity' - The Worlds Largest Statue". Born to Engineer. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2022. Two 250 tonne tuned mass dampers were placed at chest height to control the sway in high winds.
  16. ↑ "The Statue of Unity | Sardar Patel | L&T". 23 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2022. To arrest any sway of such a tall structure, two Tuned Mass Dampers of 250 tonnes each have been used.
  17. 1 2 "Gujarat's Statue of Unity to cost Rs 25 billion". Daily News and Analysis. 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "L&T to build Statue of Unity, Centre grants Rs 200 crore". The Indian Express. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Statue of Unity gets ₹200 crore". The Hindu. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  20. ↑ "India's new budget includes $33 million to build the world's tallest statue". The Washington Post. 10 July 2014. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "India's Modi budgets $33 million to help build world's tallest statue". Reuters. 10 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Fact Check: Who funded the tallest statue of the world?", India Today, 9 November 2018
  23. ↑ "Burj Khalifa consultant firm gets Statue of Unity contract". The Times of India. TNN. 22 August 2012. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  24. ↑ "First phase of 'Statue of Unity' to cost Rs 2,063 cr". Business Standard. 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  25. ↑ "India's Narendra Modi lays foundation stone for 'world's tallest statue'". BBC News. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  26. ↑ "Ground gets set for Statue of Unity". The Indian Express. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  27. 1 2 "L&T to build Statue of Unity, Centre grants Rs 200 crores". The Indian Express. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  28. 1 2 "Gujarat govt issues Rs 2,97-cr work order to L&T for Statue of Unity". Business Standard. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  29. ↑ "Sardar Patel's Statue of Unity inauguration today: World's tallest statue is an engineering marvel". Live Mint. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  30. ↑ "Statue of Unity to be unveiled in Gujarat on Wednesday". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  31. ↑ "Indian farmers fume at 430m dollars cost of Gujarat statue". BBC News. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  32. ↑ "'Statue of Unity tourism zone will displace us from our lands': Why Adivasis protested Modi event". Scroll.in. 1 November 2018.
  33. ↑ "Statue of Unity: Govt bows to villagers' demands". The Times of India. TNN. 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  34. ↑ "Statue of Unity ready for inauguration on October 31: 10 interesting facts about world's tallest statue". The Financial Express. 13 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  35. ↑ "PM Modi to unveil Statue of Unity on Oct 31: Rupani". The Times of India. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  36. ↑ "Statue of Unity is also a tribute to Indian engineering skills". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 28 October 2018. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  37. ↑ Doshi, Vidhi (29 October 2018). "Four times as tall as the Statue of Liberty: India's new monument to its 'Iron Man'". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  38. ↑ "Statue of Unity or Opportunity? An Argumentative Review" (PDF). International Journal for Research in Engineering Application & Management (IJREAM). Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  39. ↑ S Rangan, Pavithra (26 January 2015). "Big Man, Little Folks". Outlook.
  40. ↑ "Statue of Unity: Salient features of the world's 'tallest statue'". The Hindu. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  41. ↑ "All you need to know about Sardar Patel Statue of Unity dial 9099799555". India Today. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  42. ↑ "Nearby top attraction at Statue of Unity]".
  43. ↑ "In 11 Days, More than 1.28 Lakh Tourists Visit Statue Of Unity". NDTV.com. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  44. ↑ ANI (13 January 2020). "Statue of Unity finds place in '8 Wonders of SCO'". Business Standard =15 January 2020.
  45. ↑ "Gujarat Statue of Unity attracted 2.9 mn tourists, earned400cr in one year". mint. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  46. ↑ "Gujarat: Statue of Unity crosses 50 lakh visitors-mark". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  47. ↑ Tere, Tushar (10 November 2022). "Footfalls At Sou Hit 1 Crore Mark". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  48. ↑ "As Statue of Unity completes five years, how tourism has changed the name and face of a sleepy village". The Indian Express. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
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