Monumental Memorial – Statue of Unity
THE
TALLEST, THE GRANDEST AND THE GIANT STATUE OF UNITY is the statue of our Iron
Man, Sardar Vallabhai Patel
and the statue was opened by our Beloved Prime Minister Modi on 31st October 2018 coinciding with 143rd birth
anniversary of Patel, our Bismarck of Modern India. He won over British leaders
in the Satyagrah of Kheda and Bardoli and is
the architect of independent India uniting all diverse 562 princely states
within a short period of 70 days through a bloodless revolution to build on
great Republic of India.
‘Such a
bloodless revolution is unthinkable and remarkable which only Patel could
achieve’ was the remarks by the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on his visit
to India.
The
Statue is to remind all Indians to be united with Good Governance and One India
Best India and One India Superior India which are not mere slogans but it is a
call to all Indians jointly to make our
Mother India a Super Power in the World
Arena .
The project was first
announced on 7 October 2010. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) was
established by the Gujarat government for construction of the statue. A drive
named the Statue of Unity Movement was started to support the construction of
the statue.
To involve the people
of India in making the Statue of Unity, around 10,000 tons of long and short
irons were collected from Indian farmers throughout India who had donated used
iron farm machineries/ equipments.
The monument and its surroundings
occupy more than 5 acres roughly and are
surrounded by a artificial lake. It was built by Larsen & Toubro, who received the contract
for Rs.3000 crore for the design,
construction, and maintenance in October 2014. The construction was started on
31 October 2014 and completed in mid-October 2018 – approximately 4 years.
Inside the statue, a high speed
elevators will take the tourists to a height of about 400 feet close to the
chest of the Sardar Patel statue from
there one can view the entire Narmada river, surrounding hills and dam.
Apart from the statue, there are
several other tourist attractions around including the valley of flowers,
natural beauty of the Satpura and Vindhyachal hill ranges, besides the Sardar Sarobar dam on the mighty Narmada river. There is a 52 room 3 star
hotel inside the complex for an overnight stay.
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). The statue has been
described as a tribute to Indian engineering skills. Statue of Unity will be able to withstand wind velocity up
to 60 m/s, vibration and earthquakes.
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