Statue of Unity

A notch above the rest.

The statue of unity is the statue of Indian statesman and founding father, Sardar Vallabhabi Patel(1875-1950) in the state of Gujarat, India. It is the world’s tallest statue with the height of 182 meters(597 ft). it is located on a river island facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada in Kevadiya colony, 100 kilometers (62 miles) 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 km (7.5 miles) long artificial lake. It was built by Larsen and Toubro, who received the contract for 2989 crores (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. More than 2500 workers were worked to get the statue ready in time, with several hundred migrant laborers from china also contributed to the efforts. Once the statue was completed, the bronze- clad- statue which was begun in 203 is nearly twice as tall as New York’s Statue of Liberty. The Statue of unity, as it is known, is inaugurated by the Indian Leader Mr. Modi on 31 October. There is a viewing gallery some 153 m up, near the chest of the statue. The statue is located some 200 km (125 miles) from the state’s main city, Ahmadabad.

It has become a significant tourist attraction for the country’s westernmost state.Since opening for the public on November 1, the 182 m tall Statue of unity in Narmada district of Gujarat has attracted more than 1.28 Lakhs tourists. A huge rush of tourist was seen during the weekend, with over 50,000 at Kevadiya village on Saturday and Sunday alone. Gujarat has registered 17 percent year-on growth in tourism with a total 5.2 crores tourist visiting the statue in 2017. The Statue of unity helped in achieving considerable growth in arrival of tourist to Gujarat.

M.Nasreen