Essay on Statue of Unity

List of Essays on Statue of Unity.

List of Essays on Statue of Unity in English

Essay on Statue of Unity – Essay 1 (250 Words)

Introduction

The Government of India created history on 31^st Oct 2018 by unveiling the tallest statue in the world – ‘The Statue of Unity’. There’s no doubt that the statue which is standing tall at 182 metre, got all attention from the world nations as it is twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty and 23 metre taller than the Spring Temple Buddha Statue in China.

Statue of Unity – A Tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

The Statue of Unity is built to honor Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a great freedom fighter and the first Home Minister of Independent India.

It is only due to Patel’s effort that we could see a unified India today. Sardar Patel took the ultimate task of uniting all the 562 princely states of pre-independent India and so the statue is named, ‘The Statue of Unity’. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was so courageous that people of India fondly called him ‘The Iron Man of India’.

Statue of Unity – As a Revenue Generator

The Statue of Unity by itself is a tourist attraction and its location on the Sadhu Bet Island on the Narmada River between Satpura and the Vindhya mountain ranges is a real scenic treat to the visitors. The Statue is guaranteed to bring foreign money into India by means of tourists.

Most importantly, this statue will bring lots of employment opportunities for maintenance contract workers.

Conclusion

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contribution to freedom struggle is in no way less to Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru but was forgotten in history. What was not recognized all these years has been brought in front of the whole world through ‘The Statue of Unity’.

Essay on Statue Of Unity – Essay 2 (300 Words)

Introduction:

The Statue of Unity – the tallest statue on earth is developed in the respect of one of the greatest Indian Revolutionary Leaders and Freedom Fighter, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, affectionately known as the Iron Man of India. Sardar Patel was one of the critical statesmen of India and was the first deputy Prime Minister of Independent India. He assumed a critical job in joining the princely states dispersed across the nation. This unification shaped what is known as the political boundary of our country today.

Location:

The Statue of Unity is located on the Sadhu Bet Island on the Narmada River between Satpura and the Vindhya mountain ranges. It is built in a way that it faces the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River in Vadodara, Gujarat and as being located on a river island. An artificial lake has been created around the Statue of Unity surrounding the statue in a beautiful way.

A mark of Indian Architecture:

The inauguration of the construction of the statue of Unity was laid by Shri Narendra Modi, who was the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, on 31^st October 2013 – which marked the hundred and thirty-eighth birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

The height of 182 meters was selected to represent the number of seats in the present-day legislative assembly of Gujarat. The statue of Unity was made by steel framing with concrete reinforced bronze cladding. The finances for this mega project was generated on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, however, Gujarat state government funded most of it.

The statue of Unity is opened for the public after 56 months (on 31^st October 2018), which included 15 months of meticulous planning, 40 months of painstaking construction and almost a month to hand over the project to the government in a finished form. It is documented that almost three thousand workers and three hundred engineers, worked on the project to make it a grand success.

Conclusion:

In general, the Statue of Unity has without a doubt been fruitful in stealing the thunder globally. The Statue of Unity is an image of the developing financial quality of India. Then again, it likewise grandstands the crafting skills of Indian engineers. On a greater sense, the Statue of Unity has positively risen as the ‘Pride of the Nation’ and also serves as a befitting tribute to the nation’s most well-spoken statesman – Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

Essay on Statue Of Unity: Making and Tourism  – Essay 3 (500 Words)

Statue of Unity – the 182-meter magnanimous creation of India stands proudly as the tallest statue in the world. It faces the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada in the city of Vadodara, the state of Gujarat, being located on a river island. The statue is in honor of the great Indian revolutionary freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Making of the statue

The statue sculpted in the supervision of the Padma Bhushan recipient Ram V. Sutar. It was inaugurated by the honorable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 31^st October, Patel’s 143^rd birth anniversary. The company Larsen and Toubro are responsible for the construction of the statue. During the announcement of the creation and beginning of the project, the statue was dubbed to be ‘Gujarat’s tribute to the nation.’

Patel – the great statesman

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was one of the most influential freedom fighters to have participated and led the ‘fight for freedom’ movement in India. He had a significant contribution in uniting numerous princely states to form the unit what we now call India. He was the first Deputy Prime Minister of Independent India.

When asked about the design of the statue, Anil Sutar, son of Ram Sutar remarkably commented, “The expression, posture, justify the dignity, confidence, iron will as well as kindness that his persona exudes.” With raised head, flanging shawl come from the shoulders, hands set ready on the side for a brisk walk, and the statue gives a live impressive, unusual visual experience. The statue is a more massive replica of the one already installed in Ahmedabad International Airport.

A mark of India’s capability – a statue seen from space

The height of 182 meters selected especially because that is the exact number of constituency seats present in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. The statue was made by steel framing with reinforced concrete and a bronze cladding, made to order from a foundry in China, has been imparted over it.

The finances for the project generated on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, with major funding by the Gujarat state government. The time taken to build the magnificent creation was 56 months – 15 months for planning, 40 months for construction and the remaining taken to hand it over to the Government. Over 3,000 workers and 250 engineers were employed to carry out this feat.

Tourism

More than 125,000 tourists have visited the monument since it was made open to the public on 1^st November 2018. The statue complex has five regions of which only three have been made accessible to the public. The first zone at the base of the statue has a museum which displays articles and items commemorating the life of Patel and his various contributions to the making of free India.

The audio-visual gallery situated adjacent to it shows a 15-minute presentation on Patel and also showcases the beautiful tribal culture of the state to promote tourism. The statue has become the tallest statue in the world after beating the record of the previous record holder, the Spring Temple Buddha in China which stands at a lofty height of 153 meters.

Statue of Unity – the enormous statue of renowned freedom fighter and the first Deputy Prime Minister of Independent India, is an extraordinary memorial for the great leader.

Essay on Statue of Unity: Design, Cost, Features, Criticism and Conclusion – Essay 4 (2000 Words)

Introduction

On the day of October 31st, 2018, India unveiled the Statue of Unity, which has been labeled the tallest statue in the world with a mesmerizing height of 182 meters (597 ft). The figure is a tribute to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel who was considered to be one of the greatest pillars in the era of Indian politics.

The statue was revealed on the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel and the sculpture stands tall in the Vadodara city of the Gujarat state. Apparently, the statue is built and installed in such a way that it faces the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river.

It took almost four years to complete the Statue of Unity since the time of its construction. Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated the sculpture and it was finally, put on display for the public on the last day of the October month.

An artificial lake has been created around the Statue of Unity surrounding the statue in a beautiful way. While the sculpture was constructed by the Larsen and Toubro group, the credit for designing the statue goes to Ram V. Sutar who is a renowned Indian sculptor and has also been awarded a Padma Bhushan.

There are many interesting facts associated with the Statue of Unity. Let’s explore them one at a time.

Design and Construction

There were many twists and turns in the making of the Statue of Unity. A lot of public contribution was made by the Gujarat people for the completion of this project. Here’s the whole story about how the idea came into existence that led to the raising of the tallest statue in the world.

Origin and Outreach

It all started when Narendra Modi announced the project at a press conference on 7 October 2010 that he would like to recognize his 10th year as chief minister of Gujarat by dedicating it to Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

The plan was titled as “Gujarat’s tribute to the nation“. Gujarat government also founded a special trust known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) that was responsible for the completion of the statue.

Later, the state government initiated a movement for the Statue of Unity, asking the farmers to donate their old and used-up farming tools, in order to compensate for the iron needed to build the sculpture.

The movement was a huge success. Soon enough, more than 5000 tons of iron was raised as a contribution to the project. Nonetheless, the collected iron was used in making the other segments of the project rather than being used in the statue itself.

Not only that, Suraaj petition was started to support the project. It was signed by a whopping number of 20 million people which made it the world’s largest petition till today. Eventually, the construction officially started on 31 October 2013.

Design

After a lot of mind-bending research and studies, the esteemed historians and academics were convinced by the design presented by Ram Sutar. Basically, it is the magnified version of the statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel which is already placed at the Ahmedabad International Airport.

As mentioned above, Sardar Patel played a major role in the consolidation of 562 princely states of India. The unification forms what is known as the modern political boundary of the country today.

He also contributed to the success of the Indian independence movement and later emerged as one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India. Evidently, Sardar Patel earned an image of a noble, kind, and iron-willed leader.

It was made sure that his sculpture did justice to the leader’s personality by reflecting all these qualities and emotions present in him. Initially, there were options of three models in the run, all with different sizes.

As it turned out, the largest model with a height of 30 feet (9.1 m) was finalized. The 3 -D scan of the original design was made. It was in a Chinese facility where the bronze cladding cast of the statue was manufactured later.

The total height of the actual statue measured from the base is 240 m (790 ft). The base itself has a dimension of 58 m (190 ft) whereas the statue solely measures 182 m (597 ft) in height.

Funding

The project-deal was clinched by the Larsen & Toubro group. Larsen and Toubro are commonly known as the L&T. It is one of the biggest multi-national firms in India. L&T is also considered to be a paramount company in the field of construction works.

A contract for ₹2,989 crore (US$420 million) was signed by the company in October 2014. The firm was responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of the Statue of Unity. ₹13.47 billion were assigned for the main statue.

The exhibition hall and convention center called for another ₹2.35 billion. While the ₹830 million were allocated for the bridge for connecting the memorial to the mainland. As for the maintenance, ₹6.57 billion were assigned for the preservation of the structure for 15 years post-completion.

As the sculpture was developed on a public-private partnership model, the state government of Gujarat had arranged for most of the finances. A total of ₹6 billion (US$84 million) was granted for the Statue of Unity project in the 2012-2015 budget.

The union budget of the year 2014-15 assigned an amount of ₹2 billion (US$28 million) for the construction of the sculpture. Under the scheme of Corporate Social Responsibility, the PSUs also contributed to make-up for the rest of the funds.

The major PSUs are from the oil and natural gas sector with big names such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Oil India Limited.

Needless to mention that a non-monetary contribution was made by the Indian farmers in the form of the 5000 tonnes of iron which was supposed to be consumed in the making of the Statue of Unity.

Construction

Three major business companies were together in charge of all the administration and management tasks during the construction process. These organizations were Turner Construction, Michael Graves and Associates, and the Meinhardt Group.

While the total estimated fund needed was somewhere around ₹20.63 billion (US$290 million), the planning and execution of the project took its own time. The statue of Unity was planned and designed in 15 months.

Building up the whole sculpture consumed another 40 months. In the end, the consortium handed over the finished product to the government in the next two months.

The first stone of the statue was laid by the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. It was done on 31 October 2013 which was the 138th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. Larsen and Toubro grabbed the deal and started the construction a year later on the same day, i.e. 31st October 2014.

More than 3000 employees and 250 engineers were involved in the entire project. The raw materials used in the core of the statue expended around 210,000 cubic meters (7,400,000 cu ft) of cement concrete, 6500 tonnes of structural steel, and 18500 tonnes of reinforced steel.

The bronze cladding cast was made in China. It used up at least 1700 tonnes of bronze plates and 1850 tonnes of bronze cladding which was constituted of 565 macro and 6000 micro panels.

Features and Facts (with Points)

Statue of Unity is special in many ways. Apart from being the tallest statue in the world, following facts and features that make it so unique, are listed below.

• First of all, the Statue of Unity is the tallest statue in the world with a height of 182 meters (597 ft).
• In terms of ranking, it surpasses the other internationally leading monuments including the Spring Temple Buddha, the Statue of Liberty, The Motherland Calls, The Christ The Redeemer, and the Statue of David.
• Within the country, before the Statue of Unity, the record of the tallest monument was held by the Statue of Hanuman, with a height of 41 m (135 ft). It is located at the Paritala Anjaneya Temple near Vijayawada, in Andhra Pradesh.
• Coming back to the Statue of Unity, it is built on an island called Sadhu Bet. The statue is placed 3.2 km away from the Narmada Dam downstream.
• The total area covered by the statue itself and its remaining parts is more than 2 hectares (4.9 acres).
• Adding to its grandeur, an artificial lake has been created around the statue. The lake is around 12 km long. It was conceived by the low Garudeshwar dam downstream on the Narmada river.
• There are 5 total zones that divide the statue. Out of these, only 3 are open to public display.
• Zone 1 begins from the base and extends to the shins of Patel. It is again separated into three sub-zones. This segment includes an exhibition area, mezzanine, roof, a memorial garden, and a museum.
• The visitors can explore the life and contributions of Sardar Patel while wandering through the museum. A 15-minute presentation is made to display the cultures and customs of the tribal communities of Gujarat.
• Zone 2 stretches up to Patel’s thighs whereas the Zone 3 reaches up to the viewing gallery. Zone 4 is the maintenance area and Zone 5 covers the head and shoulders.

Why You are Proud of Statue of Unity

Well, there are plenty of reasons to be proud of when it comes to the Statue of Unity. To begin with, it is a great way to flaunt the engineering talents of India. The following points are enough to validate it.

• The Statue of Unity can endure winds with as much speed as 130 kilometers per hour (81 mph) and can withstand earthquakes measuring up to 6.5 on the Richter scale.
• This has been made possible by putting two 250-tonne tuned mass dampers to use and providing the statue with a maximum stability.
• There are two elevators in each leg of the statue and each elevator can lift as many as 26 people at a time. The lift takes the visitors to the viewing gallery in less than a minute.
• The statue is supposed to stay as it is for around 1000 years. That means it would be first such tourist attraction in India which would keep growing the national income for at least 10 centuries. It is certainly the ‘Pride of Nation’.

Criticism

Regardless of all the magnificent features and splendor, the Statue of Unity is not immune to controversies and criticisms.

• The biggest issue has been the relocation of the Tadvi tribal people living in the villages of Kevadia, Kothi, Waghodia, Limbdi, Navagam, and Gora. The consistent opposition of the land acquisition and demand for the restitution of the land rights have been of use.
• Moreover, the relocated tribal people were promised the compensation and employment in return which has still not been done on the ground level.
• Such a large amount of funding involved in the making of this statue has also called for the severe criticism as many activists and environmentalists think the money could have been used in other important areas, such as education, health facilities.
• The humongous amount of digging and excavation has also increased the chances of floods and other natural calamities. In any case, the government doesn’t seem to pay any heed to these issues which have led to rising frustration amongst the public.

Conclusion

Overall, the Statue of Unity has indeed been successful in stealing the show globally. The sculpture is a symbol of the growing economic strength of India. On the other hand, it also showcases the crafting skills of Indian engineers.

In the coming days, the statue would eventually turn into the biggest center of attraction and flourish the tourism business in the country. The whole designing, constructing, and maintenance requirements have also created enormous job opportunities for a large number of people.

Thus, on a larger level, the Statue of Unity has certainly emerged as the ‘Pride of the Nation’ for more than one reasons.