The Statue of Unity

India is a country of diversity and we have many monuments built in India. The famous ones like Taj Mahal, Mysore palace, Charminar and many more add to the historical beauty of India. Recently, the Government of India has built ‘The Statue of Unity’ in the state of Gujarat. This Statue of Unity is a statue of Indian statesman and founding father, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The current Prime Minister of India first declared about the project of building The Statue of Unity to pay tribute to Sardar Vallabhai Patel on 7th October, 2010 at a press conference to mark the beginning of his 10th year as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is one of the most prominent leaders of the India’s independence movement, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India, and responsible for the unification of hundreds of princely states to form the modern political boundary of India.

It was also called as ‘Gujarat's tribute to the nation’. Our current PM, who was once also the Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the statue's foundation stone on 31st October, 2013, the 138th anniversary of Patel's birth. The statue is of height of 182 metres, that is, 597 ft and is considered to be the tallest statue in the world. The statue is situated on a river island facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada in Kevadiya colony which is 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the city of Vadodara, Gujarat. A drive named the Statue of Unity Movement was started to support the construction of the statue. As a support, Indian Farmers were requested to donate their used farming instruments in order to collect the iron needed to build the statue. The statue was built on a Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money raised by the Government of Gujarat. The Gujarat state Government allotted Rs. 6 billion for the project of the statue. All the funds were also contributed by PSUs under CSR scheme. Along with the appreciation and beauty came criticism too. Local tribal belonging to the Tadvi tribe opposed land acquisition for the development of tourism infrastructure around the statue. Environmental activists wrote a letter to the central government contending that project implementation started without clearance from the Environment Ministry. Many political parties criticised the expenditure spent on the statue over other priorities, such as women's safety, education and agricultural schemes. Above all, we all must have a visit to this tallest statue taking a note that it remains closed on every Monday for maintenance.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Unity