New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the Statue of Unity on Wednesday, as a tribute to freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 143rd birth anniversary in Gujarat.
Here’s all you need to know about the world’s tallest statue:
• The Statue of Unity, standing at 182 metres tall, will be the tallest statue in the world.
• It is twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
• During the unveiling ceremony, the Prime Minister will pour soil and Narmada water into an urn, according to a statement from the PMO.
• The Patel statue will be surrounded by a 12 sq km artificial lake in River Island called Sadhu Bet near Vadodara in Gujarat.
• A combination of concrete and steel is used as a skeleton for the massive statue and the exterior is covered with bronze panels.
• The statue of India’s first Home Minister will depict the man wearing a dhoti and a shawl.
• Iron for the statue has been resourced from all over the country.
• The statue has been designed by Padma Bhushan winning sculptor Ram V Sutar.
• It took about 250 engineers and 3,400 labourers to construct the statue in 33 months.
• China's Spring Temple Buddha in the central Henan province is the current tallest statue in the world. The Statue of Unity will stand taller than that by 177 feet.
• The statue is being built at an expected expense of Rs 3,000 crore under public-private partnership by construction firm Larsen and Toubro and the state-run Sardar
Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL).
• The museum will have 40,000 documents, 2,000 photographs and a research centre dedicated to Patel's life.
• The statue will have a viewing gallery at a height of 193 metres, which can accommodate 200 visitors at a time. The gallery will also offer a stunning view of the Sardar Sarovar Dam.