Prime Minster on Wednesday unveiled the ‘Statue of Unity’ in honour of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The statue is built on Sadhu Bet Island on Narmada river. Standing tall at 182 metres from the ground and 240 metres from the Narmada river base, the statue is touted as the world’s tallest statue. The statue is almost 29 metres taller than China’s Spring Temple Buddha that stands at 153 metres, and almost twice as high as the 93-metre Statue of Liberty in New York. As soon as PM Modi unveiled the statue, three Indian Air Force planes flew past Sardar Patel figure and created the tricolour in the sky.
Addressing the gathering later, Modi said that Statue of Unity is symbol of country’s engineering and technical capabilities. “Had Sardar Patel not united country, we would need visa to see lions or pay homage at Somnath or view Charminar in Hyderabad,” he said. Gujarat Governor OP Kohli, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy CM Nitin Patel, BJP president Amit Shah and former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel were present at the unveiling of the Statue of Unity. The ceremony coincided with Sardar Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary.
