The magnificent Statue of Unity was unveiled today by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. It is currently the tallest statue in the world at a hundred and eighty two metered and is attribute to the celebrated freedom fighter and first deputy Prime Minister of the country.
Air Force planes were deployed to shower flowers on the magnificent Statue of Unity whose unveiling coincides with the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, popularly known as the Iron Man of India.
Built at the cost of almost three thousand crores, the magnificent Statue of Unity is twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty and is located in Gujarat, few kilometres away from the Narmada dam.
What has been escaping the headlines is that the local tribal leaders had led a boycott of the entire function citing the protest against the destruction of natural resources due to the statue as the reason. The Gujarat government is, however, said to have granted 1,200 acres of new land to the displaced families.
“Today is a day that will be remembered in the history of India. No Indian will ever forget this day,” was the statement of Narendra Modi when he inaugurated the statue amidst heavy police deployment as heavy protest by the locals whose lands were used for the building of the magnificent Statue of Unity.
Facts you need to know about the magnificent Statue of Unity
This magnificent Statue of Unity depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who was India’s first home minister, first and only of the two deputy Prime Minister and who played an important role in the freedom struggle as well as carving out the current map of the country in the traditional dhoti and shawl. An interesting fact is that the iron used in building the sculptor was collected from all over the country via a drive through which individuals donated whatever amount of iron that they could. The statue of the Iron Man of India can withstand severe earthquake and intense wind velocity.
The chief designer is Padma Bhushan award winning sculptor Ram V Sutar. The statue was built by Larsen and Toubro and the state run organisation Sardar Sarover Narmada Nigam Ltd. The final product is the result of the labour of two hundred and fifty engineers and more than three thousand labourers over a period of thirty three months.
