Day 205

 Statue of Unity 

A friend, who is  a senior citizen, had visited the Statue of Unity last week with a group and  shared the photos and videos, which prompted this blog. The video gave a close view of the place and the Statue itself. During the inauguration by our Hon. PM, one had a good view of the colossal Statue, but the other facilities could not be seen much… here in the said video from the entry to exit was nicely captured by a professional photographer/videographer…

From the entrance to the place of the statue, elevators- as in airports- are available to take the visitors… no food items are allowed inside and the place is kept extremely neat and clean…

Final 10-12 KMs to venue, the organisers’ take the tourist in special buses.  Roads and the infrastructure around and enroute to the venue is spectacular…

Old newspapers-bigger versions- of that era are also displayed  at the Exhibition hall, to recall/remind about the old days… and also other important events from  Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s life and times …. the place had a large number of  visitors, even during the current times… in the days/years ahead, the place will definitely become a great tourist destination.

The location of the statue has its own natural beauty… the river flowing below and surrounded by  green hills give a natural beauty to the place… though it is in a remote place…  the visit, I think, will be memorable to all, more so to the younger generation…

The manner in which the whole place is developed, maintained and intended will provide a next-level experience to the tourists-both Indian and foreign.

Some details of the Statue are given below, more can be seen from the Wikipedia.

The Statue of Unity is a colossal statue of Indian statesman and independence activist Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950), who was the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of independent India and an adherent of Mahatma Gandhi during the non-violent Indian independence movement.  

Sardar Patel was highly respected for his leadership in uniting 562 princely states of India with a major part of the former British Raj to form the single Union of India.

The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue, with a height of 182 metres (597 feet). 

Construction of the monument was completed in mid-October 2018; and the inaugural ceremony was held on 31 October 2018 (143rd birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel), and was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The statue has been described as a tribute to Indian engineering skills

 The total cost of the project was estimated to be about ₹2,063 crore (equivalent to ₹28 billion or US$370 million in 2020) by the government.

The daily average tourist footfall at Statue of Unity during November 2019 reached 15,036, outpacing the Statue of Liberty (which attracts around 10,000 daily visitors on average).

 It has been included in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list. In its first year of operation, the Statue of Unity attracted 29 lakh (2,900,000) visitors and collected ₹82 crore in ticket revenue. 

By 15 March 2021, 50 lakh (5,000,000) tourists visited the venue.

(Extracted from Wiki)

My friend stated that standing under the mammoth statue was truly a humbling experience and words are inadequate to express  his feelings…

…. (Though I have not visited in person, the said Video gave me a feeling of being there…… almost… God willing I hope to see the Statue of Unity ..one day..)

The greatness of a bygone leader has been brought back to life in its full glory for the modern generation to Review, Reflect, Refresh, Recall and Rejuvenate their thoughts and memory…

Our humble salute to all the visionary leaders behind the

magnificent project for its timely and exquisite execution…

वन्दे मातरम्

ॐ शान्ति

8 AM