Statue of Unity, Colossal statue in Kevadia, India
The Statue of Unity stands 182 metres tall on the Sadhu Bet island in the Narmada River, facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The dark bronze figure of Sardar Patel wears a draped garment and shawl, with folded hands at his sides, a bald head and sandalled feet. It rests on a red-brown tiered base above a concrete structure with columns.
Inauguration took place on October 31, 2018, exactly on the birthday of the person it represents. It remembers a politician who helped bring together hundreds of small princely territories into one state after independence.
The 182-metre height matches the 182 seats of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. Farmers across India donated used tools for the Statue of Unity Movement, and the collected iron went into the structure rather than the figure. A 'Suraj' petition gathered about 20 million signatures.
Elevators bring visitors up to a viewing platform at chest level of the figure, where you can look over the Narmada Valley. On hot days the morning is more comfortable before the sun beats down on the open terraces.
The whole structure was engineered to withstand winds up to 180 kilometers per hour and earthquakes measuring up to 6.5 magnitude. Such safety measures are essential for a sculpture of this size in a region prone to seismic activity.
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