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.