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Sardar Patel Birth Anniversary LIVE: PM Narendra Modi Touches Down in Kevadiya to Unveil 'Statue of Unity'

News18.com | October 31, 2018, 8:42 AM IST
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Event Highlights

Sardar Patel Birth Anniversary LIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has touched down in Kevadiya to unveil the 182-metre giant 'Statue of Unity' as a "special tribute" to the 'Iron Man of India'. Right now a cultural programme is being held at the venue. Before reaching Gujarat in a chopper, PM Modi tweeted, "We bow to the great Sardar Patel, the stalwart who unified India and served the nation tirelessly, on his Jayanti." He also paid tribute to former PM Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary.

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off the Run for Unity from Dhyanchand stadium as India pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the occasion of his birth anniversary.
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Oct 31, 2018 8:42 am (IST)

PM Modi has arrived in Kevadiya for the inauguration of the Statue of Unity

Oct 31, 2018 8:37 am (IST)

Visuals from the ground near the Statue of Unity in Gujarat's Kevadiya. 

Oct 31, 2018 8:36 am (IST)

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has flagged off the Run for Unity in Chennai on the ocassion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas. Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal have also flagged off  the Run For Unity in Guwahati.

Oct 31, 2018 8:34 am (IST)

Sardar Vallabai Patel's grandson Dhirubhai Purshottam Patel and granddaughter Urmila Ben Patel, who are also attending the unveiling ceremony of Statue of Unity, say that the statue is a dream come true for them and a proud moment for the family. 

Oct 31, 2018 8:32 am (IST)
Oct 31, 2018 8:31 am (IST)

PM Narendra Modi has arrived in Gujarat for the unveiling of statue of unity, dedicated to Sardar Vallabai Patel. The ceremony will begin at 10 am. 

Oct 31, 2018 8:30 am (IST)

CLICK TO READ | Ram Vanji Sutar: Meet the Noida Sculptor Who Pored Over 2,000 Photos to Design State of Unity

Ram Vanji Sutar is said to have taken special care to ensure that the statue's face resembles Patel's facial features by going through 2,000 photographs of the leader.

Oct 31, 2018 8:29 am (IST)

TN Ministers to Attend the Unveiling | Tamil Nadu ministers K Pandiarajan and 'Kadambur' Raju would take part in the unveiling of the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat. Being built at a cost of Rs 2,389 crore at Sadhu Bet island on Narmada river, the statue is set to be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of  Patel's birth
anniversary. Chief Minister K Palaniswami has assigned Information and publicity minister Raju and Minister for Tamil official language and culture, K Pandiarajan, to take part in the event, an official release Tuesday said. A fortnight ago, Gujarat government representatives had met Palaniswami and extended a formal invitation for the inauguration.

Oct 31, 2018 8:26 am (IST)

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has said that the Statue of Unity, dedicated to the man who built India should have been erected years ago. 

Oct 31, 2018 8:23 am (IST)

The Congress on Tuesday said the "real tribute" to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would be that his order banning the RSS should be placed at the foot of the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, at a press conference, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party does not have any idols of its own and highlighted that Patel was from the Congress and also a former president of the party.

Oct 31, 2018 8:21 am (IST)

22 Villages Boycott Unveiling | For the inauguration of the Statue of Unity, the Gujarat government has invited dance troupes from across the country. Air Force planes and helicopters are expected to shower flowers on the statue during unveiling.  Village headmen of 22 villages located near the statue have, however,  decided to boycott the unveiling ceremony and not to welcome Prime Minister Modi alleging mass destruction of natural resources in the making of the statue, which they say has been built at an extravagant cost in a place bereft of basic amenities like safe drinking water, schools and colleges.

Oct 31, 2018 8:19 am (IST)

Indian Railways’ ticketing arm, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) will run special trains to pay tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 143rd birth anniversary. IRCTC will flag off ‘Unity Express’ on 31st October from Rajkot on the inaugural occasion of statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Statue of Unity). The special train will run for 12 days with boarding points at Rajkot, Surendra Nagar, Viramgam, Sabarmati, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Vapi, Kalyan and Pune. The statue of Unity has two high-speed passenger elevators in its core which will take tourists up to the chest of the statue to a viewing gallery, which can accommodate about 200 tourists at a time. Prime Minister Modi has said that the statue will attract “hordes” of tourists, just as the Statue of Liberty does for New York. According to the Gujarat government, it will bring 15,000 tourists a day.

Oct 31, 2018 8:18 am (IST)

There are 139 statues of 30 meter of greater height in the world. Of these 42% have been built in either China or India. While China leads with 34 statues taller than 30 mts, India has 25 such statues. The 'Statue of Unity' will be twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty, which was gifted by France to the United States. Patel's statue now takes the top spot in the list of world's tallest statues, taking the top spot from the 128 meter tall Buddha statue built in Spring Temple, China. The only upcoming claimant to this title the title of being the world's tallest statue is another statue under construction near Mumbai Shiv Smarak or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial which has been planned to be 30 meters taller than the 'Statue of Unity'.

Oct 31, 2018 8:18 am (IST)

The statue has been designed by Noida-based Padma Bhushan awardee sculptor Ram V. Sutar, who has designed over 50 monuments in his 40 year old career. He is said to have taken special care to ensure that the statue’s face resembles Patel’s facial features by going through 2,000 photographs of the leader. Sutar also reportedly consulted historians and people who had seen the “Iron Man”. The statue has been designed to give an impression of Patel walking on water towards the Sardar Sarovar dam. The 'Statue of Unity' has been built to withstand wind speeds of up to 180 km and an earthquake of up to 6.5 magnitude on the richter scale. 

Oct 31, 2018 8:17 am (IST)

The statue has been built at a cost of Rs 1,989 crore. Around 1,40,000 cubic mts of concrete has been used up in making this statue. Supporting it are 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel rods. The statue is covered with 2,000 tonnes of bronze sheets and has been completed in record time of 33 months through the efforts of over 3,000 labourers who worked on it round the clock. The statue was first announced in 2010 by the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, and the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The first foundation stone of the statue was laid in 2013.

Oct 31, 2018 8:02 am (IST)

PM Modi and Statue of Unity | Stages in the construction of the statue have coincided with turning points in Modi’s political journey. It was announced at a time when India had begun debating a possible national role for the Gujarat chief minister. The foundation-laying ceremony, on October 31, 2013, kick-started his 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. And its completion for the inauguration, exactly 5 years later on October 31, is being seen as the beginning of Modi’s campaign for a second term in the 2019 general election.

Oct 31, 2018 8:02 am (IST)

Making of State of Unity | Four thousand workers worked on the statue, which will stand in centre of a pond filled with the dam’s overflowing water.  It has been built in Sadhu Bet, a hillock between the Vidhyanchal and Saputara ranges located 3.5 km downstream of the iconic, 138-metre high Sardar Sarovar Dam. The first step towards connecting the entire nation with the statue was the Loha (iron) campaign, in which an agricultural tool each was collected from around 700,000 villages across India and melted down for use. In all, 135 tonnes of iron was donated by farmers to support the project, for which Modi’s slogan was Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat (One India, Noble India).

Oct 31, 2018 7:52 am (IST)

There are 139 statues of 30-metre or taller in the world. Of these, 42% have been built in either China or India. While China leads with 34 statues taller than 30 metres, India has 25 such statues. The 'Statue of Unity' will be twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty, which was gifted by France to the United States. Patel's statue now takes the top spot in the list of world's tallest statues, taking the top spot from the 128-metre-tall Buddha statue built in Spring Temple, China. The only upcoming claimant to this title the title of being the world's tallest statue is another statue under construction near Mumbai Shiv Smarak or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial which has been planned to be 30 meters taller than the 'Statue of Unity'.

Oct 31, 2018 7:40 am (IST)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has flagged off the Run for Unity from the Dyanchand Stadium in Delhi. In a speech before flagging off the run, Rajnath Singh praised the ‘Iron Man of India’, saying that he not toiled to unite all states under the Union of India, “we would be needing visas to visit states where we move freely today”.

Oct 31, 2018 7:28 am (IST)

President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Oct 31, 2018 7:24 am (IST)

“We bow to the great Sardar Patel, the stalwart who unified India and served the nation tirelessly, on his Jayanti,” tweets Narendra Modi ahead of unveiling the Statue of Unity on the occasion of Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary.

Oct 31, 2018 7:20 am (IST)

Sardar Patel’s statue has been designed by Noida-based Padma Bhushan awardee sculptor Ram V. Sutar, who has designed over 50 monuments in his 40-year-old career. He is said to have taken special care to ensure that the statue’s face resembles Patel’s facial features by going through 2,000 photographs of the leader. Sutar also reportedly consulted historians and people who had seen the ‘Iron Man of India’. The statue has been designed to give an impression of Patel walking on water towards the Sardar Sarovar dam.

Oct 31, 2018 7:18 am (IST)

The statue was first announced in 2010 by Narendra Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. The first foundation stone of the Statue of Unity was laid in 2013. The 'Statue of Unity' has been built to withstand wind speeds of up to 180 km and an earthquake of up to 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale. 

Oct 31, 2018 7:16 am (IST)

CLICK TO READ | State of Unity: Twice the Height of Statue of Liberty and Built in Record Time | 10 Facts

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue now takes the top spot in the list of world's tallest statues, taking the top spot from the 128 meter tall Buddha statue built in Spring Temple, China.

Oct 31, 2018 6:59 am (IST)

The Statue of Unity, which pays homage to Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel, has been built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore. Around 1,40,000 cubic metres of concrete has been used up in making the statue. Supporting it are 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel rods. The statue is covered with 2,000 tonnes of bronze sheets and has been completed in record time of 33 months through the efforts of over 3,000 labourers who worked on it round the clock.

Oct 31, 2018 6:58 am (IST)

Built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore, the Statue of Unity project, barring bronze cladding which is a fragment of the mammoth work, has been done indigenously, says L&T. The statue is located approximately 3.5 km downstream from the Sardar Sarovar Dam, on Sadhu Hill on the bed of the river Narmada.

Oct 31, 2018 6:57 am (IST)

At 182 metres from the road entry and 208.5 metres from the river entry, the Statue of Unity iconic statue is taller than the 153m Spring Temple Buddha in China and almost twice the height of the world-famous Statue of Liberty in New York.

Oct 31, 2018 6:56 am (IST)

India will pay tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the occasion of his birth anniversary today by unveiling a 182-metre giant statue of the ‘Iron Man of India’ on the islet of Sadhu Bet in Gujarat’s Narmada district. The Statue of Unity will be dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The imposing monument, touted as the world's tallest statue, is twice the height of Statue of Liberty.

Sardar Patel Birth Anniversary LIVE: PM Narendra Modi Touches Down in Kevadiya to Unveil 'Statue of Unity'

The NDA government has lined up a series of events to honour the 'Iron Man of India' starting with the unveiling of the 182-metre giant statue of Sardar Patel on the islet of Sadhu Bet in Gujarat’s Narmada district. The Statue of Unity will be dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The imposing monument, touted as the world's tallest statue, is twice the height of Statue of Liberty.

Sardar Patel’s statue has been designed by Noida-based Padma Bhushan awardee sculptor Ram V. Sutar, who has designed over 50 monuments in his 40-year-old career. He is said to have taken special care to ensure that the statue’s face resembles Patel’s facial features by going through 2,000 photographs of the leader. Sutar also reportedly consulted historians and people who had seen the ‘Iron Man of India’. The statue has been designed to give an impression of Patel walking on water towards the Sardar Sarovar dam. Ahead of the unveiling, PM Narendra Modi paid tribute to Sardar Patel on Twitter, “We bow to the great Sardar Patel, the stalwart who unified India and served the nation tirelessly, on his Jayanti,” he said.



After PM Narendra Modi unveils the Statue of Unity, three Air Force planes would fly past and create the Tricolour in the sky by emitting saffron, white and green colours. Modi would also inaugurate the 'Wall of Unity' (a monument defining India's unity) near the statue. At that time, three Jaguar fighter jets would fly past the structure at a low altitude. At 182 metres from the road entry and 208.5 metres from the river entry, the iconic statue is taller than the 153m Spring Temple Buddha in China and almost twice the height of the world-famous Statue of Liberty in New York.

Built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore, the Statue of Unity project, barring bronze cladding which is a fragment of the mammoth work, has been done indigenously, L&T told PTI. The statue is located approximately 3.5 km downstream from the Sardar Sarovar Dam, on Sadhu Hill on the bed of the river Narmada.

The raft construction of the structure actually begun on December 19, 2015, and took 33 months construction time for completion. It devoured 180,000 cu m of cement concrete, 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel, 6,500 tonnes of structured steel, 1,700 tonnes of bronze and 1,850 tonnes of bronze cladding, the conglomerate said.

The statue is conceived as a naturalistic depiction of Sardar Patel in characteristic garb in a walking pose and it rises out of a star-shaped, geometric base that covers the entire Sadhu Hill. Also the statue is slender most at the base, which goes against the norms of what other tall statues have followed. The walking pose also opened up a gap of 6.4 metres between the two feet which then had to be tested to withstand wind velocity, the company mentioned.

The statue structure was to be designed for 180 km per hour wind speed. And if you have seen all the huge statues in the world they have a wide base on which they stand. In case of this statue, the standing leader's two legs were to be shown separate, which resulted in a narrow base for the structure. This was the biggest challenge, as one has to make the structure withstand the high wind speed at the same time, it should meet the sculptors' aesthetic requirements, said L&T.

Another challenge was the statue is of a living legend and not an imaginary persona.

"We evolved the design of the statue by using various techniques. We collected around 2,000 photographs from archives and zeroed in on one photograph, after consulting multiple stakeholders like historians and people who had seen Sardar. We used technology to convert the 2-dimensional photograph into a 3-dimensional model," L&T said.

The shape of the shawl, its fall and texture are unique considering the peasant background and the sculptor Ram Suttar had to work hard and diligently to come as close to reality as possible, L&T said.

L&T CEO and MD SN Subrahmanyan told PTI, "The Statue of Unity, apart from being a symbol of national pride, and integration is also a tribute to India's engineering skills and project management abilities.

"Our engineering and construction teams along with the architects, the sculptor, and reputed global consultants, have realised this dream of Prime Minister to reality in a record period of time. Our commitment to scale, speed and quality in engineering has yielded this desired outcome, which is not only structurally superior but also aesthetically appealing."

On project challenges Mukesh S Raval, Project Director for the Statue of Unity, L&T told PTI: "Mr Ram Suthar, the sculptor, made a few replicas and the final bronze replica, measuring 30 feet, was handed over to us. That replica was scanned into electronic data, which was finally converted into a data grid for around 597-feet (182 metres) statue design. There were corrections as in any photography enlargement some details get lost. Then we took this data to the foundry for casting the final bronze claddings. It was like arranging thousands of parts to complete a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle."

The engineering giant said the structure has two vertical cores supporting the steel frames to which about 6,500 bronze panels are clad.

L&T said it has been engineered to withstand wind speeds of up to 50 m per second (almost 180 km). The Statue of Unity can also survive earthquakes measuring up to 6.5 on the Richter Scale, at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue.

Altogether, the statue is divided into five zones. Up to its shin is the first zone, comprising three levels, including an exhibit floor, mezzanine and roof. It will contain a Memorial Garden and a large museum.

Zone 2 extends up to the statue's thighs at 149 metres, while Zone 3 goes up to the viewing gallery at 153 metres. Zone 4 comprises the maintenance area and Zone 5 the head and shoulders.

The viewing gallery with space to accommodate up to 200 people at a time, will have a view of the Satpura and Vindhyachal mountain ranges, which also form the point where Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra meet.

Visitors can also get a distant view of the Sardar Sarovar Reservoir, and the 12-km-long Garudeshwar Reservoir.

In the lobby area at the entrance of the statue, a Museum and Audio Visual Gallery will feature 15-minute presentations on the life of Patel and the tribal culture of Gujarat on the pattern of Burj Khalifa where visitors are shown audio-visual presentations on its construction.

On December 15, 2013, then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi had flagged off the campaign to 1,69,000 villages, carrying about three lakh empty kit boxes and subsequently, by 2016, 135 metric tonnes of iron was collected for the statue, L&T said.
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