We are just one day away from officially unveiling what will be the World’s Tallest Statue, standing at an incredible 597 ft (182 meters) tall. It is modeled after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was a key figure in the struggle for Indian independence. It will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, the birth date of Patel.
Conceptualization of Statue of Unity
Narendra Modi (then CM of Gujarat) first announced this project on 7th October 2010 with saying- “I want people from all over the world to see this statue just like they go to see America’s Statue of Liberty or Paris’s [Eiffel] Tower,”. Foundation was laid by then CM Narendra Modi on October 31, 2013.
Gujarat government established Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) for construction of the idol.
Construction Technology
Sophisticated state of art technologies like Light Detection and Ranging Technology and Telescopic logging to assess rock joint is adopted.
Statue development through four stages of Mock-up, state of the art three-dimensional scanning technique and computer numerical control production technique adopted to ensure accurate reproduction of minute details.
Approximately 1850 Metric Ton of Bronze cladding shall be erected without any external staging.
Project Features: The iron needed was collected from farmers of villages all around India in a form of the donation of their used farming instruments. The drive was named the ‘Statue of Unity movement, over 5000 metric tonnes of iron were collected, to be used in various parts of the project.
This humongous figure is located on a river island ‘Sadhu Bet’ and is about 3.5km away from the Narmada dam. A 250-meter long bridge is built to increase the connectivity to the island. Flowers will be grown on the hillocks adjoining the statue to make the 230-hectare area look like a ‘valley of flowers’.
In addition to the Tallest Sculpture, the Project will also feature below attractions:
• Shrestha Bharat Bhavan
• Tribal Museum
• Museum & Audio-Visual Gallery
• A Laser, Light and Sound show
• Research Centre
• A Monumental View
• Hospitality & Entertainment
• Ferry Services
Source: http://www.statueofunity.in/statue-of-unity-project-features
Statue of Unity Facts
- Statue of Unity will have a viewing gallery at 153 m, which can accommodate up to 200 visitors at a go, and will offer an expansive view of the dam and environs.
- The Statue Of Unity, the World’s Tallest Statue, will be able to withstand wind velocity up to 60 m/sec, vibration and earthquake.
- The height of statue (182m) represents the number of constituencies in Gujarat state.
- The Narmada, the fifth longest river in the Indian subcontinent, runs in a rift valley between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The Sardar Sarovar Dam and its 200 Km long reservoir, Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges from the gallery of the Statue of Unity.
- The World’s Tallest Statue – Statue Of Unity is being built on Sadhu Island in the Narmada river, approximately 3.2 km away from the Sardar Sarovar Dam. 3.5 km highway will be built to connect the island to Kevadia town in Gujarat.
- Iron collected through the ‘Loha’ campaign will be melted, converted into rebar, and used in the foundation of the Statue of Unity, making farmers across India an integral part of building the World’s Tallest Statue.
- The Shrestha Bharat Bhavan adjacent to the Statue of Unity is designed to be a 128-key, 3-star hotel facility with food service, guest amenities, and conference facilities.
- The Statue of Unity will comprise two semi-joined, composite concrete cylindrical cores, surrounded by a structural steel space frame to support the exterior cladding.
- 22500M ton of cement will be used to build the Statue of Unity.
- 5,700 Mton of structural steel and 18,500 Mton of reinforcement bars will be used to build the Statue of Unity.
Source: http://www.statueofunity.in/statueofunityfacts
Players:
Turner Project Management Pvt. Ltd (Project manager of Burj Khalifa) was selected for providing Project Management and Construction Management services in August 2012.
In October 2014, Larsen & Toubro won the contract with the lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (US$420 million) for the design, construction and maintenance.
Phase 1:
• Rs 1347 crore are for the main statue
• Rs 235 crore for exhibition hall and convention center.
• Rs 83 crore for the bridge connecting the memorial to the mainland
• Rs 657 crore for the maintenance of the structure for 15 years after its completion.
Accenture is handling Digital Media Outreach for this project and the overall monument is designed by Ram V. Sutar.
Why this Statue?
What comes first in your mind when you hear the word- Paris?
– Eiffel Tower of course.
What comes first in your mind when you hear the word- New York?
– Statue of Liberty.
These statues have been a tourist location for decades now, and hence they contribute very significantly in attracting tourists. Statue of Unity, which is about two times taller than the Statue of Liberty will be doing the same for India. A statue of Sardar will constantly remind us of the great values this great nation stands for. The project will also further increase India’s soft power in the World.
The effigy carving will be providing direct employment to 15000 people and indirectly to lakhs due to the tourism business. Biggest benefactors of this project will be the tribal living in Narmada, Bharuch and Surat districts due to a major influx of tourism. Within next few years, the region will be growing at an exponential pace. The Narmada is already the lifeline of Gujarat as it provides water to remotest regions of Gujarat. After this mammoth figure is unveiled by PM Narendra Modi on 31st October, it will be having a major share in tourism as well.
Checkout more news & updates about the unveiling of the statue tomorrow onwards on all social media platforms under the hashtag #StatueOfUnity.
Isn’t this yet another reason to be a PROUD INDIAN? JAI HO!
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Gujarat is on the list of World’s 10 Best Regions To Travel in 2019: https://bollydust.com/best-regions-visit-2019/