Statue of Unity, the world's largest, unveils in India as a fitting tribute to Sardar Patel on his birth anniversary
The imposing monument is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US and is built on an islet, Sadhu Bet, around 3.5 km downstream from the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat's Narmada district.
The best way to reach Sadhu Bet island is to take a boat ride.
Built at a cost of Rs. 2,989 crore, the statue depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first home minister, wearing a traditional dhoti and shawl, towering over the Narmada River.
Who designed the Statue of Unity?
Padma Bhushan awardee, Ram Vanji Sutar, a 93-year-old acclaimed sculptor who graduated from the prestigious J.J School of Art in Bombay designed the statue.
He has sculpted masterpieces including that of Mother Chambal at Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh, equestrian statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Amritsar, and numerous statues of Mahatma Gandhi.
Who built the statue?
It took about 250 engineers and 3,400 labourers to construct the Statue of Unity.It has been built by Larsen and Toubro and the state-run Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. It took about 250 engineers and 3,400 labourers to construct the statue.
Malaysia-based Eversendai, which constructed Dubai's famous Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa buildings, was handed the contract for the steel framework. It has been built using over 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel, 6,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1,700 metric tonnes of bronze, which was used for the outer cladding of the structure. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET), set up by Modi in 2011 arranged some 129 tonnes of iron implements from nearly 100 million farmers in 169,000 villages across all states to construct the base of the statue.Construction materials used to build the statue
How was the design finalised?
The statue is conceived as a naturalistic depiction of Sardar Patel in a walking pose.
To get it right, designers sifted through 2,000 photographs of Sardar Patel before picking the one that they would model it on and then converted the two-dimensional photograph into a three-dimensional model.
What will be its cost of operation and maintenance?
Rs 657 crore over 15 years, Rs 43.8 crore annually or Rs 12 lakh per day.
Costing of tickets
- The statue will be open for the public visit from November 3. People will have to book tickets online to visit the statue - at www.soutickets.in
- Entry ticket for adults is priced at Rs 12 while for children (between three to 15 years), it is Rs 60
- The ticket includes entry to the 'Valley of Flower', memorial, museum and an audio-visual gallery, SOU site and the Sardar Sarovar Dam
- For observation deck view, the ticket is priced at Rs 350
- Tickets to avail the bus services cost Rs 30 for adults and Re 1 for children
- If you have booked an entry ticket or observation deck ticket, then the bus ticket need not be booked separately
Timings to visit the statue
The Statue of Unity can be visited from 9 am to 6 pm on all days.
Selfie point for pictures
For those who want to click photographs, the complex also has a separate selfie point from where you get a good view of the statue and its surroundings.