The 182-meter-tall Statue of Unity is set to be officially unveiled on October 31st near the waters of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in the Narmada district in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The statue is a tribute to Indian independence movement leader, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, described as 'the Bismarck of modern India' and the 'Iron Man of India'. A government website describes it as the world's 'tallest, grandest and giant statue .. a tribute to the man who united India.'
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will be present at the unveiling of the statue, which has taken four years to construct at a cost of over $460 million (AUD), or INR 2,389 crore.
The 182-meters-tall, Statue of Unity is being prepared for the unveiling ceremony on 31st of October. Photo: Ritesh Patel Source: Ritesh Patel, Senior Photojournalist, Divya Bhaskar
Everyone has been eager to get a glimpse of the monument, at any cost.
Ritesh Patel is a photojournalist from one of Gujarat's leading newspapers, Divya Bhaskar and he claims he captured one of the first photos of the statue with a drone camera.
"I reached the site on the 4th October to take some good pictures of the statue. When I asked the people in charge about the project, they did not respond," he told SBS Gujarati.
Indian workers give the finishing touches to the world's tallest statue dedicated to Indian independence leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Source: Getty
"I realized quickly that the work was going full speed ahead as they had to get the site ready well before the unveiling ceremony on 31st October.
"Approximately 3,000 workers were working on site for 24 hours a day in shifts which inspired me even more to take the exclusive photograph of the statue. I stayed in a hotel around five kilometres away and kept on visiting the site four to five times a day in order to get the best photo. I was afraid of missing the precious moment of the final parts of the statue being attached," said Ritesh.
The statue, located approximately 200 kilometers from Ahmadabad, India, will be unveiled on the birthday of Sardar Patel. Source: AAP
"Parts of the world's tallest statue were transported on big trucks. The eyes and the shoes took 4 trucks alone."
Ritesh says that after a week of waiting, he decided to use a drone camera.
"I waited for the right lighting and took the photograph of Sardar Patel's statue at 9 o'clock in the morning. As soon as the photograph was published in the newspaper, the government stopped drone photography from the area before the inauguration. I published mine just in time!”
Statue of Unity is situated near the Sadhu-Bet Island, approximately 3.5 kilometres south of the Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in the Narmada district. Photo: Ritesh Patel Source: Ritesh Patel, Senior Photojournalist, Divya Bhaskar
World’s tallest statue
The then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, began the project in October 2013, collecting iron from 170,000 villages from 28 states across the nation.
As many as 3,500 workers and more than 250 engineers worked for almost 4 years on its construction.
On completion, it will outrank China’s Spring Temple Buddha, currently the world's tallest statue at 153 meters.
Source: Statue of Unity website
'Black Day' villagers' protest
According to the state government, the area will be developed as a tourist destination with claims it will also generate approximately 15,000 jobs for the tribal people of the area.
However, thousands are set to protest against the project.
"As many as 7,500 people of 13 villages will protest against the land acquisition by the government for the statue project," Gujarati journalist and columnist Bhaven Kachhi told SBS Gujarati.
"The movement has the support from the tribes of 15 districts in the state and they are planning to gather at the project site on the 31st October for the protest. Also, approximately 100 organisations working for the tribal people are supporting the movement and they have decided to observe a "black day".
Some protestors, he said, have defaced posters of the Prime Minister and Chief Minister.
"The government says it's a political stunt of the opposition to secure the tribal vote bank for the elections," he said.
The BBC's Gujarat correspondent, Roxy Gagdekar, said that people in the city are excited about the statue as a tourist destination. The extensive marketing campaign by the government, he said, will encourage tourists from other parts of India.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani visits site of The Statue of Unity ahead of its official opening. Source: AAP
"As per government's estimates, 2,500,000 people will visit the statue every year and it will generate jobs for the local tribes," he told SBS Gujarati.
"But on the other hand, 80 per cent of the local tribes in the area are depending on farming and farmers of 28 villages near the site did not get enough water for the irrigation because of the long dry summer followed by erratic rains.
"The tribes believe that the development of the site as the tourist place won't give them permanent jobs as their literacy rate is too low. The government could have helped them by spending only a fourth of the total costs of the statue."
Legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950) was born in Nadiad town in Gujarat, the son of a farmer, who went on to become an iconic social and political leader playing an important role in the struggle for Indian independence from Britain.
Often referred to as 'Sardar', meaning 'Leader', he went on to become a successful lawyer, with time spent in London's Middle Temple Inn at the age of 36.
Supporting Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, Sardar Patel organised disobedience protests in Gujarat against taxation policies imposed by the British Raj. He rose to leadership of the Indian National Congress in the early 1930s, later promoting the Quit India movement.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (centre) with Sardar Patel (right) and Jawaharlal Nehru (left). 1947. Source: Getty
He went on to become the first Deputy Prime Minister of India, playing a leading role in guiding the country and integrating the newly independent nation.
