The Gujarat government is gearing up to inaugurate the Statue of Unity which will be a 182-metre-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It is a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — on October 31, the 143rd birth anniversary of the country’s first Home Minister.
On Tuesday, Gujarat Chief Secretary J N Singh visited Kevadia Colony in Narmada district to take stock of the project, which is being executed by the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL). “Having been involved in the project’s tendering process in its early stages, it is very satisfying to see the project taking shape. We are aiming for an October 31 inauguration this year, which will also mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel,” said Singh, who was the MD of SSNNL when the Statue of Unity was commissioned to it.
J N Singh also asserted that there has been a decision made, which was promised by Prime Minister Modi, would also come up in the area as an added tourist attraction.
At present, the engineering teams that have been working on the structure have erected 157 metres of the statue (192 metres from mean sea level), which will form the chest of the statue and will contain the viewing gallery for visitors.
The statue is a mixture of both concrete as well as steel framework for the core that will then be covered by the exterior cladding of bronze. The TQ Art Foundry has designed about 5,000 bronze panels under the supervision of artist Ram Sutar that have been assembled at a workshop on the site before being clad to complete the facade in stages.
The number of labourers working on this project is exemplary. Close to 2,400 labourers are working at the construction site day and night. The statue has been erected using the “jump form” construction assembly, a “self-climbing one”, with built-in hydraulic lifting jacks that move the structure upwards during its construction.