statue of unity

The Statue of Unity is a large statue of Vallabhbhai Patel - the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of independent India and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi during the non-violent Indian Independence movement. The statue is located in the west Indian state of Gujarat.

It is billed to be the world’s tallest statue, at 182 metres height.

The Statue of Unity project was first announced in the year 2010 and the construction of the statue started in October 2013 by the company Larsen & Toubro, with the design by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar.

The statue was finally inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018, which was also the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel's.

The project took a total of 57 months to complete, including 2 months for handing over by the consortium; and the total construction cost came to ₹2700 crore (USD 422 million). 

The statue is built in a pose that manifests the expression and posture in a way that justifies Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s dignity, confidence, as well as his kind personality. A shawl is flung from his shoulders and hands are on the side as if he is set to walk. It was finished with a bronze cladding cast from a foundry in China,

The total height of the structure is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and the statue alone measures 182 m (597 ft) – Another fun fact is that this height of 182 metres was specifically chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Rajpipla town in the Narmada district of Gujarat is the nearest city to the Statue of Unity, located about 25 kilometres away from Sardar Sarovar Dam, which is a popular landmark.

The nearest airport to the statue is the Vadodara airport, which is about 90 kilometres away from the site. From the airport, you can hire a cab or use the state transport to get to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue.

Statue of Unity is open to public from 9 am to 5 pm on all days. The tickets for the Statue of Unity can be booked on its official website or directly at the site.

A basic entry ticket to the Statue of Unity costs INR 120 for adults and INR 60 for kids. One ticket at this cost gives per person entry to the statue of unity as well as some surrounding places like valley of flowers, memorial, museum and audio-visual gallery, and the Sardar Sarovar Dam.