The Statue of Unity is the tallest statue in the world, so much so that the Statue of Liberty's outstretched arms almost reach to her belly.
The 182-meter-tall Statue of Unity in Gujarat, India. Photo: Mahi.freefly/Shutterstock
Standing at an impressive 182 meters tall, the Statue of Unity overlooks the Narmada River near the town of Kevadia in the Indian state of Gujarat, IFL Science reported on May 24. The giant statue depicts Vallabhbhai Patel, an independence activist and India's first deputy prime minister, who was born in Gujarat in 1875. He is often referred to as the "Iron Man of India" for his leadership and steadfastness.
The Statue of Unity cost $422 million to build, and included a steel and reinforced concrete frame, covered in a bronze cladding. It was designed to withstand winds of up to 50 meters per second and is classified as an earthquake-resistant structure. Upon completion, the Statue of Unity took the title of “largest statue in the world” from the Chung Yuan Buddha in China, at over 54 meters tall.
The Statue of Unity project was announced by Narendra Modi in October 2013, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. The statue was completed in October 2018, marking Patel's 143rd birth anniversary. Modi had by then become India's prime minister.
"The statue will remind those who question the existence of India that this nation was, is and will be eternal. The height of the statue will remind the youth that the future of the country is as great as it is. It is also a symbol of our technical and technological capabilities," Prime Minister Modi said at the inauguration ceremony.
However, the Statue of Unity may not hold the crown for long. India has announced plans to build a 212-meter-tall statue on an artificial island in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Mumbai. The statue, called Shiv Smarak, will depict Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the 17th-century Indian warrior king and founder of the Maratha empire. The statue was expected to be completed by 2022, but it is still under construction and no new inauguration date has been set.
Thu Thao (According to IFL Science )
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