Ahmedabad, October 30: Built from crowdsourced iron, the Statue of Unity, honouring India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, will withstand earthquakes measuring upto 6.5 magnitude on the richter scale.
The 182-metre tall statue will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow, October 31, which is also the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. The day is celebrated as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' - to honour the late leader's efforts to accede over 500 princely states with the Indian Union between 1947-50. Ten Facts About the Tallest Statue in the World.
The foundation stone of the Statue of Unity was laid back in 2013. The projected took five years for completion, and involved a village-to-village campaign seeking one iron-made agricultural tool from each household as donation for the project.
The tools, collected from over 7 lakh villages, were melted to extract 135 tonnes of iron.
The statue has been built in Kevadia region of Narmada district. The structure stands on an artificial river island 'Sadhu Bet', built nearly 250 metres away from the Narmada dam.
As part of the project, the government has also a built a 52-room 3-star hotel, two elevators and a gallery from where the tourists can view the ranges of Vindhyas and Satpura. The gallery would be able to accomodate 200 tourists at once.
Farmers' groups in Gujarat have, however, opposed the project launch at a time when the state is facing an agrarian distress.
Headmen of 22 villages located around Sardar Sarovar Dam had written an open letter to PM Modi, announcing that they would be boycotting the inauguration of the Statue of Unity.
"We villagers want to tell you with extreme grief that we will not welcome you on October 31. Even if you come here like an unwanted guest, you are not welcome here," they reportedly said in the letter.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 30, 2018 08:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).