Statue of Unity : World’s Tallest Statue

It is a proud moment for all of us when something we do is recognized and appreciated all over the world. And the feeling is out of this world if it holds the record for being unlike anything else. There are lots of statues in the world which are unique and have significant importance. We all know about Statue of Liberty (N.Y.), Spring Temple Buddha (China), and Ushiku Daibutsu (Japan). Some of these used to hold the record of being the tallest statue of the world. Until…

Something historic happened on 31st October 2018  in Gujarat. On this day, the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue (182 meters or 597 ft), was inaugurated. Statue of Unity was opened up for public visits from 3rd November 2018. This is a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the most significant personalities responsible for the unification of lots of states. Current P.M. and then serving as C.M. of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, laid the foundation of this statue on 31 October 2013. It is located on a river-island named Sadhu Bet, facing Narmada dam or Sardar Sarovar dam, near Rajpipla.

Ram V. Sutar designed the Statue of Unity and is created under the guidance of American sculptor and engraver Joseph Menna and built by Larsen and Toubro. The contract received by L&T was of ₹2,989 crore (US$420 million). 3,000 acres of artificial lake surrounds the monument. The monument itself and its surroundings occupy 4.9 acres of area.

Features of Statue of Unity:

• Elevator or Lift – This is an obvious but worth-mentioning feature
• Shrestha Bharat Bhavan – a 3-star facility for guestrooms, meals, ballroom, meeting, and events space
• Observation deck – There is an observation deck at 153m from where you can watch over the whole dam and the rest of the vicinity
• Museum, exhibition hall and audio-visual gallery – Portraying the life of India’s Iron Man
• Laser, light and sound show – Depicting the efforts of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the unification of India
• Research Center
• Ferry service
• Hospitality and entertainment
• Valley of flowers – It is 17 k.m. long
• Tent city

You can also see the Vindhya mountain ranges from the gallery of SOU, fascinating, isn’t it? This statue is believed to boost the tourism sector in the respective areas and hence creating many opportunities for the locals to work in the tourism department. There has been a huge demand recently for tourist guide particularly to serve as a specialist of SOU (Statue of Unity). It is said that SOU will create 15k jobs for tribals every year.

And there were oppositions…

Just like almost all major events, this historic event has also faced some issues. Some activists and local tribals have opposed due to land acquisition matters and the renaming of the site as it was named after a local deity and was of religious importance. Some also criticized how the money was spent on a statue when there are other major issues that need to be addressed. Environmental activists claimed that government started the implementation of the project without clearance from Environment Ministry. You can read more about it here.

Nevertheless, it’s definitely a statue that you must see. Check out this link to book tickets and know more before you visit the Statue of Unity.

Concluding, I’d like to say that right now we’re all overjoyed over the fact that the world’s tallest statue is in Gujarat. And it’s of a person who has dedicated all his life for the good of his nation and its people. This Statue of Unity, not only teaches us the strength of unity but to keep on fighting for what’s right. And to keep doing good for world peace.