Statue of Unity: Difference between revisions

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The '''Statue of Unity'''(एकता कि प्रतिमा or अखंड्मूर्ति) is a monument dedicated to [[Indian independence movement]] leader [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]] located on the river island called Sadhu Bet facing the [[Narmada Dam]] near [[Rajpipla]] in Indian state of Gujarat. The monument along with its surroundings occupies over 20,000 square metres, and is surrounded by a 12 square km artificial lake. It is the world's [[List of tallest statues|tallest statue]] with the height of {{convert|182|metres}}.<ref name="Aditya Thakur">{{cite news|title=14 Things You Did Not Know about Sardar Patel, the Man Who United India|url=http://topyaps.com/sardar-patel-the-ironman|accessdate=16 May 2014|newspaper=Topyaps|date=1 November 2014|author=Ashwani Sharma}}</ref>
The '''Statue of Unity'''(एकता की परितमा or अखंड्मूर्ित) is a monument dedicated to [[Indian independence movement]] leader [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]] located on the river island called Sadhu Bet facing the [[Narmada Dam]] near [[Rajpipla]] in Indian state of Gujarat. The monument along with its surroundings occupies over 20,000 square metres, and is surrounded by a 12 square km artificial lake. It is the world's [[List of tallest statues|tallest statue]] with the height of {{convert|182|metres}}.<ref name="Aditya Thakur">{{cite news|title=14 Things You Did Not Know about Sardar Patel, the Man Who United India|url=http://topyaps.com/sardar-patel-the-ironman|accessdate=16 May 2014|newspaper=Topyaps|date=1 November 2014|author=Ashwani Sharma}}</ref>


The project was contracted to [[Larsen & Toubro]] in October 2014 for its lowest bid of {{INRConvert|2989|c}} for the design, construction and maintenance. The construction was started on 31 October 2014 and completed in mid-October 2018.
The project was contracted to [[Larsen & Toubro]] in October 2014 for its lowest bid of {{INRConvert|2989|c}} for the design, construction and maintenance. The construction was started on 31 October 2014 and completed in mid-October 2018.

Revision as of 06:32, 31 October 2018

Statue of Unity
Statue near completion in October 2018
Map
21°50′16″N 73°43′08″E / 21.83778°N 73.71889°E / 21.83778; 73.71889
LocationNarmada district, Gujarat, India
DesignerRam V. Sutar
TypeStatue
MaterialSteel framing, reinforced concrete, Bronze cladding[1]
Height
  • statue: 182 metres (597 ft)
  • including base: 240 metres (790 ft)
[1]
Beginning date31 October 2013 (2013-10-31)
Opening date31 October 2018; 5 years ago (2018-10-31)
Dedicated toSardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Websitewww.statueofunity.in

The Statue of Unity(एकता की परितमा or अखंड्मूर्ित) is a monument dedicated to Indian independence movement leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel located on the river island called Sadhu Bet facing the Narmada Dam near Rajpipla in Indian state of Gujarat. The monument along with its surroundings occupies over 20,000 square metres, and is surrounded by a 12 square km artificial lake. It is the world's tallest statue with the height of 182 metres (597 ft).[2]

The project was contracted to Larsen & Toubro in October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (US$370 million) for the design, construction and maintenance. The construction was started on 31 October 2014 and completed in mid-October 2018.

It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar and was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on 31 October 2018 on the birth anniversary of Patel.

Outreach

Sardar Patel is considered as one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India

The project was first announced on 7 October 2010.[3] Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET), a special purpose vehicle was established by the Gujarat government for construction of the statue.[4] The iron needed for the statue and other structures was to be collected from farmers of villages all around India in a form of a donation of their used farming instruments.[5] The drive was named the 'Statue of Unity movement'.[6][7] Three months long nationwide campaign collected 5,000 tonnes of iron.[8][7] Although it was initially announced that the iron collected will be used for the statue, it later emerged that the collected iron will not be used in construction of the statue and will instead be used for some other part of the project.[9]

Run for Unity in December 2013

The Statue of Unity Movement had organized a Suraaj (good governance in Hindi) petition wherein people wrote about their ideas for the good governance. The Suraaj Petition was signed by an estimated 20 million people, which was the world's largest petition signed.[6] A marathon entitled Run For Unity was held on 15 December 2013 in several places throughout India.[10]

Project

The monument statue represents Indian independence movement leader and the first Deputy prime minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel which is constructed facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2  km away on the river island called Sadhu Bet. The total height of the statue from its base will be 240-metre consisting base level of 58 meters and statue of 182 meters. It is constructed with steel framing, reinforced cement concrete, and bronze cladding.[1] The statue needed 75,000 cubic metres of concrete, 5,700 tonnes of steel structure, 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel rods, 22,500 tonnes of bronze sheets for construction.[11][12] The statue is designed as a representation of Vallabhbhai Patel, wearing characteristic garments, in a walking stance.[13]

In the first phase, a bridge connecting the memorial to the mainland, a memorial, visitor centre buildings, a memorial garden, a hotel, a convention center, an amusement park, research centres and institutes are being constructed.

Finance

The statue was built on a Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money raised by the Government of Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat had allotted ₹1 billion (US$13 million) for the project in the budget for 2012-13[14] and ₹5 billion (US$63 million) in 2014-15.[15] In the 2014-15 Union Budget, ₹2 billion (US$25 million) were allocated for the construction of the statue.[16][17][18]

Construction

The statue under construction in January 2018
Approximate heights of various notable statues:
  1. Statue of Unity 240 m (790 ft) (incl. 58 m (190 ft) base)
  2. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m (502 ft) (incl. 25 m (82 ft) pedestal and 20 m (66 ft) throne)
  3. Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) 93 m (305 ft) (incl. 47 m (154 ft) pedestal)
  4. The Motherland Calls 87 m (285 ft) (incl. 2 m (6 ft 7 in) pedestal)
  5. Christ the Redeemer 38 m (125 ft) (incl. 8 m (26 ft) pedestal)
  6. Michelangelo's David 5.17 m (17.0 ft) (excl. 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) plinth)

A consortium of Turner Construction (project manager[19] of Burj Khalifa), Michael Graves and Associates and Meinhardt Group, is supervising the project. It took 56 months to complete the project; 15 months for planning, 40 months for construction and two months for handing over by the consortium.[13] The total cost of the project was estimated to be about ₹2,063 crore (US$260 million) by the government.[14] The tender bids for the first phase were invited in October 2013 and were closed in November 2013.[20]

The then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, (currently the Prime Minister of India) laid the foundation stone of statue on 31 October 2013, the 138th birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel.[3][21][22][23]

Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro won the contract on 27 October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (US$370 million) for the design, construction and maintenance.[24][11] They commenced the construction on 31 October 2014. In the first phase of ₹2,989 crore (US$370 million) project, ₹1347 crore are for the main statue, ₹235 crore for exhibition hall and convention centre, ₹83 crore for the bridge connecting the memorial to the main land and ₹657 crore for the maintenance of the structure for 15 years after its completion.[24][11] Accenture provides digital media outreach programme. The monument is designed by Ram V. Sutar.[25][26]

The statue was completed in mid-October 2018.[27] It was inaugurated on 31 October 2018 by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[28][29]

The statue was completed in record 33 months. The foundation was laid down in 2013 and inaugurated the statue on 31 October 2018.[30]

Issues

Local people have opposed land acquisition for tourism infrastructure development around the statue. They also claimed that Sadhu Bet was originally called Varata Bawa Tekri, named after a local deity, and so it was a site of religious importance.[21]

Environmental activists wrote a letter to the central government that this project started implementation without environmental clearance from the ministry.[31]

People of Kevadia, Kothi, Waghodia, Limbdi, Navagam, and Gora villages opposed the construction of the statue demanding back land rights of formerly acquired 927 acres of land for the dam and the formation of Garudeshwar taluka. 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.[32]

When ₹2 billion (US$25 million) was allocated for the statue in the 2014-15 Union budget, several people and the political parties criticised the expenditure for the statue over other priorities like women's safety, education and agricultural schemes.[33][34][35][36] L&T has contracted with TQ Art Foundry; subsidiary of the Jiangxi Toqine Company based in Nanchang, China; for the bronze cladding of the statue. It was criticised by Indian National Congress, the opposition party in Gujarat Legislative Assembly.[37]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gujarat: Sardar Patel statue to be twice the size of Statue of Liberty". CNN IBN. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  2. ^ Ashwani Sharma (1 November 2014). "14 Things You Did Not Know about Sardar Patel, the Man Who United India". Topyaps. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  3. ^ a b "For iron to build Sardar Patel statue, Modi goes to farmers". The Indian Express. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Statue of Unity: 36 new offices across India for collecting iron". The Times of India. TNN. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  5. ^ "For iron to build Sardar Patel statue, Modi goes to farmers".
  6. ^ a b "The Indian Republic". The Indian Republic.
  7. ^ a b "Pan-India panel for Modi's unity show in iron". The New Indian Express.
  8. ^ "Statue of Unity: 36 new offices across India for collecting iron - The Times of India". The Times Of India.
  9. ^ "Farmers' iron not to be used for Sardar Patel statue". dna. 9 December 2013.
  10. ^ "Large number of people run for unity". ToI. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  11. ^ a b c "Gujarat govt issues Rs 2,97-cr work order to L&T for Statue of Unity". Business-Standard. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Statue of Unity to be unveiled in Gujarat on Wednesday Read more at: //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66431623.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Economic Times. Retrieved 30 October 2018. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  13. ^ a b "Burj Khalifa consultant firm gets Statue of Unity contract". The Times of India. TNN. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Gujarat's Statue of Unity to cost Rs25 billion". Daily News and Analysis. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  15. ^ "L&T to build Statue of Unity, Centre grants Rs 200 crore". The Indian Express. 11 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Statue of Unity gets Rs. 200 crore". The Hindu. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  17. ^ "India's new budget includes $33 million to build the world's tallest statue". The Washington Post. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  18. ^ "India's Modi budgets $33 million to help build world's tallest statue". Reuters. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Burj Khalifa - The Skyscraper Center".
  20. ^ BS Reporter (28 October 2013). "First phase of 'Statue of Unity' to cost Rs 2,063 cr".
  21. ^ a b "Ground gets set for Statue of Unity". The Indian Express. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  22. ^ "World's tallest statue coming up in Gujarat". Daily News and Analysis. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  23. ^ "Interesting things you should know about 'The Statue of Unity'". The Economic Times. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  24. ^ a b "L&T to build Statue of Unity, Centre grants Rs 200 crores". Indian Express. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  25. ^ "Project teams - Statue of Unity".
  26. ^ "'Statue of Unity' To Be Completed In 2 Years: Renowned Sculptor Ram Sutar". NDTV.com. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Statue of Unity ready for inauguration on October 31: 10 interesting facts about world's tallest statue". The Financial Express. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  28. ^ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pm-modi-to-unveil-statue-of-unity-on-oct-31-rupani/articleshow/64908893.cms
  29. ^ https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/statue-of-unity-ready-for-inauguration-on-october-31-10-interesting-facts-about-worlds-tallest-statue/1347830/
  30. ^ "Sardar Patel's Statue of Unity inauguration today: World's tallest statue is an engineering marvel", Live Mint, 31 October 2018
  31. ^ "Statue of Unity project has no environmental clearance, say activists". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 23 December 2013.
  32. ^ "Statue of Unity: Govt bows to villagers' demands". The Times of India. TNN. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  33. ^ "Budget 2014: Indians balk at ₹2 billion statue of Sardar Patel". The Times of India. AP. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  34. ^ Edited Deepshikha Ghosh (10 July 2014). "Budget 2014: 200 Cr For PM Modi's Sardar Patel Statue vs 150 cr For Women's Safety". NDTV.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  35. ^ "Budget 2014 live: 200 crore for Sardar statue sparks outrage on Twitter". Firstpost. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  36. ^ "Twitterati slam Rs 200 crore in budget for Patel statue The Indian Express". 10 July 2014.
  37. ^ "Statue of Unity to be 'made in China', Gujarat govt says it's contractor's call". The Indian Express. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

Statue of Unity also a tribute to Indian engineering skills

External links

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