Rs 2989 Cr Worth ‘Statue Of Unity’ Is An Engineering Wonder: 6 Astonishing Facts
PM Modi will pay tribute to the Sardar Patel by inaugurating Statue Of Unity today.
Today, on the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, PM Modi will inaugurate Statue of Unity as a tribute to the great statesman.
Costing Rs 2989 crore to make, this is World’s tallest statue, and an engineering wonder whose metrics and numbers will astonish you.
We cannot describe any other word, but this is an unparalleled accomplishment, never before seen in this World.
Here are 7 astonishing facts about this statue:
Contents
Time Taken For Completion
Till now, China’s Spring Temple Buddha was the tallest man-made statue in the world, which took 11 years to complete. In comparison, the Statue of Unity took just 33 months to complete, and the world is in wonder, as to how is this possible.
The groundwork for the statue started in October 31, 2013, and the raft construction started on December 19th, 2015, and took exactly 33 months to complete. A rare feat indeed.
Actual Height Of This Statue
At 182 metres from the road entry and 208.5 metres from the river entry, Statue of Unity is tallest man-made statue in the World. Comparably, this is 153 meters taller than Spring Temple Buddha, and twice the height of Statue of Liberty in New York.
Mindblowing Details Of Materials Used
Such a massive structure needed an astonishing amount of materials for its creation. Here are some numbers: Cement concrete used: 180,000 cu m; reinforced steel used: 18,500 tonnes, structured steel used: 6,500 tonnes, 1,700 tonnes of bronze and 1,850 tonnes of bronze cladding.
The massive statue rises out of star-shaped, geometric base that covers the entire Sadhu Hill near the bed of Narmada river.
Engineering Manipulations
Normally, statues are broad in the base, and slender at the top. However, in order to depict the natural gait and walking style of Sardar Patel, this statue is slender in the bottom, and broad at the top. Besides, the pose if of walking, there has to be a gap of 6.4 meters between his legs, and the overall statue had to be tested to withstand wind and velocity of 189 kmph.
6,500 bronze panels are supporting two vertical cores, which supports the entire statue.
CEO and MD of Larsen & Toubro, which won the bid to complete this status, S.N. Subrahmanyan said, “The Statue of Unity, apart from being a symbol of national pride, and integration is also a tribute to India’s engineering skills and project management abilities.”
Risk Prevention Of The Statue
While developing this statue, engineers calculated risks and threats which threatened to impact the statue.
The statue has been made to withstand winds upto 180 kmpr (50 miles per second), and can easily absorb the shocks generated by earthquakes measuring up to 6.5 on the Richter Scale, at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue.
Zones Of This Statue
The whole statue has been divided into 5 zones: The area upto the chin of Sardar is zone 1, which has three levels: exhibit floor, mezzanine and roof. A Memorial Garden and a large museum will be built there.
Zone2 2 is the area upto 149 meters, while Zone 3 is the area upto the viewing gallery at 152 meters. Maintainance area comprises Zone 4, while Zone 5 is head and shoulders.
The viewing gallery on Zone 1 can accommodate 200 people, and visitors can see entire Satpura and Vindhyachal mountain ranges, where Gujarat, MP and Maharashtra meets.
Besides, visitors can also have a long-distance view of Sardar Sarovar Reservoir, and the 12-km-long Garudeshwar Reservoir.
As per initial reports, Rs 350 per head would be charged for entering this structure, and the Govt. estimates 15,000 visitors per day. A 3-star hotel will be also developed near the statue, 3-kms away, where visitors can stay as well.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
