Some important facts about ‘The Statue of Unity’

The Statue of Unity is a statue of Indian freedom fighter and politician Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875– 1950) in the Narmada district of Gujarat, India. It at present holds the record for the world’s tallest statue, with a stature of 182 meters (597 ft). Vallabhbhai Patel was a standout amongst the most unmistakable pioneers of the Indian autonomy development and the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. The statue is on a stream island confronting the Narmada Dam (also called as Sardar Sarovar dam) near Rajpipla, 100 kilometres southeast of the city of Vadodara.

Area: Narmada District, Gujarat, India

Originator: Ram V. Sutar

Sort: Statue

Material: Steel confining fortified concrete, bronze cladding

Stature

The landmark and its environment possess in excess of 2 hectares (4.9 sections of land) and are encompassed by a 12 km2(4.6 sq mi; 3,000 parts of land) artificial lake. It was assembled by Larsen and Toubro, who got the agreement for ₹29.89 billion (US$420 million) for the plan, development and upkeep in October 2014. The construction started on 31 October 2014 and finished in mid-October 2018. It was planned by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar and was committed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018, the 143rd commemoration of Patel’s introduction to the world.

Statue:

182 meters. (597 ft)Including base: 240 meters (790 ft)

Beginning date :

31st October 2013

Opening date:

31st October 2018;

Outreach

The task was first declared on 7 October 2010. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) was built up by the Gujarat government for development of the statue. A drive named the Statue of Unity Movement was begun to help the construction of the statue.

It helped gather the iron required for the statue by requesting that Indian ranchers give their utilised cultivating instruments. At last 5,000 tonnes (4,900 long tons; 5,500 short tons) of iron were gathered

Even though it was at first planned for the statue, it was later chosen that the assembled metal would preferably be utilised for different parts of the task.

The Statue of Unity Movement sorted out a Suraaj (“good administration” in Hindi) appeal to which was marked by an expected 20 million individuals, which was the world’s biggest request. A long-distance race entitled ‘Run For Unity’ was hung on 15 December 2013 out of a few places all through India.

Venture

The statue depicts Vallabhbhai Patel, a pioneer of the Indian freedom movement and the nation’s first Deputy Prime Minister. It was built on an island named Sadhu Bet, 3.2 km (2.0 mi) far from and confronting the Narmada Dam. The aggregate stature of the structure from its base is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and the statue of 182 m (597 ft). It is built with steel confining, fortified bond cement, and bronze cladding. The statue’s development took 75,000 cubic meters (2,600,000 cu ft) of concrete, 5,700 tons (5,600 long tons; 6,300 short tons) of steel structure, 18,500 tons (18,200 long tons; 20,400 short tons) of fortified steel poles, and 22,500 tons (22,100 long tons; 24,800 short tons) of bronze sheets.

Development

A consortium comprising Turner Construction (project manager of Burj Khalifa), Michael Graves and Associates and Meinhardt Group supervised the undertaking. It took 56 months to complete – 15 months for arranging, 40 months for development and two months for giving over by the consortium. The aggregate expense of the undertaking was evaluated to be about ₹20.63 billion (US$290 million) by the legislature. The delicate offers for the principal stage were welcomed in October 2013 and were shut in November 2013.

Narendra Modi, at that point serving as Chief Minister of Gujarat, established the statue’s framework stone on 31 October 2013, the 138th commemoration Patel’s introduction to the world.

Indian framework company Larsen and Toubro won the agreement on 27 October 2014 for its most reduced offer of ₹29.89 billion(US$420 million) for the structure, development and maintenance. They initiated the construction on 31 October 2014. In the principal period of the undertaking, ₹13.47 billion were for the fundamental statue, ₹2.35 billion for the display lobby and tradition focus, ₹830 million for the scaffold interfacing the remembrance to the terrain and ₹6.57 billion for the upkeep of the structure for a long time after its culmination. Accenture provided the advanced media outreach program, and Ram V. Sutar structured the landmark.

Timeline

The statue was finished in 33 months. The establishment was set down in 2013; development was finished in mid-October 2018; and the debut service was hung on 31 October 2018, directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The statue has been portrayed as a tribute to Indian building abilities.

Issues

Local inhabitants belonging to the Tadvi tribe opposed land acquisition for the development of tourism infrastructure around the statue. They have been offered cash and land compensation, and have been provided jobs. Activists like Medha Patkar and Gladson Dungdung have also opposed the project. They also claimed that Sadhu Bet was initially called Varata Bawa Tekri, named after a local deity, and so it was a site of religious importance.

Environmental activists wrote a letter to the central government contending that project implementation started without clearance from the Environment Ministry. 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 the formation of the new Garudeshwar subdistrict. They also opposed the formation of Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA) and the construction of Garudeshwar weir-cum-causeway project. The government of Gujarat accepted their demands.

When ₹2 billion (US$28 million) was allocated for the statue in the 2014–15 Union budget, several people and political parties criticised the expenditure on the statue over other priorities, such as women’s safety, education and agricultural schemes. L&T contracted with TQ Art Foundry – a subsidiary of the Jiangxi Toqine Company based in Nanchang, China – for the bronze cladding of the statue, which was criticised by the Indian National Congress, the opposition party in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. It was later clarified by Swarajyamag that 9 per cent of the total value of the project was sourced from China.

Fund

The statue was based on a Public Private Partnership model, with the majority of the cash raised by the Government of Gujarat. The Government of India had allotted ₹3 billion (US$42 million) for the venture in the financial plan from 2012 to 2016. In the 2014– 15 Union Budget, ₹2 billion (US$28 million) were dispensed for the development of the statue.

Here is a list of (mostly) public sector companies that “voluntarily” paid for it out of their CSR funds

  • Indian Oil Corporation – 900 crores
  • ONGC – 500 crores
  • Bharat Petroleum – 250 crores
  • Oil India Corporation – 250 crores
  • Gas Authority of India Limited – 250 crores
  • Power Grid 125 crores
  • Gujarat Minerals Development Corporation 100 crores
  • Engineers India – 50 crores
  • Petronet India – 50 crores
  • Balmer Laurie – 50 crores

While some are inferring, there was no need for the government to waste money on building the statue, others believe that it is constructed with the political aim of honouring a revered icon of Indian unity. Undoubtedly, it provided a lot of employment in last four years and is projected to provide employment to thousands of people as the place is being developed as prime tourist attraction.


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