Statue of unity

History of Statue of Unity

Narendra Modi announced the project on 7 October 2013 to mark the beginning of his tenth year as the chief minister of Gujarat.

A society named Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) was formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Gujarat, to execute the project.

Statue of Unity Movement was started in 2013 to collect the iron needed for the statue by asking farmers to donate their used farming instruments. By 2016, a total of 135 metric tonnes of scrap iron had been collected and about 109 tonnes of it was used to make the foundation of the statue after processing. A marathon titled Run For Unity was held on 15 December 2013 in Surat and Vadodara in support of the project.

Funding

The Statue of Unity was built by a Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money coming from the Government of Gujarat. The Gujarat state government had allotted ₹500 crore (equivalent to ₹755 crore or US$94 million in 2023) for the project in its budget from 2012 to 2015. In the 2014–15 Union Budget, ₹200 crore (equivalent to ₹320 crore or US$40 million in 2023) was allocated for the construction of the statue. Funds were also contributed by Public Sector Undertakings under the Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.

Funding

Tourism

Over 128,000 tourists visited the statue in the first eleven days of its opening to the public on 1 November 2018. 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 2,900,000 visitors and collected ₹82 crore (US$11.64 million) in ticket revenue. By 15 March 2021, 5 million tourists visited the venue. It was visited by 10 million people by November 2022. In five years since opening, the statue attracted over 15 million cumulative visitors.

Best time to visit: The best time to visit the Statue of Unity is in the cooler months of October to February, though the site is open all through the year. The Statue of Unity opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 6:00 PM from Tuesday to Sunday. The Laser Light and Sound Show can be viewed from 7:30 PM onwards daily, except on Mondays.The Statue of Unity is closed on Mondays for maintenance work.

Laser Light and Sound Show

A Light and Sound show using laser technology projected on the Statue of Unity takes place every evening except Monday. The colourful laser lighting system is accompanied by an excellent narration of the history and life of Sardar Patel, his contribution to the Independence Movement and the unification of India as one nation.

Laser light show

The Statue of Unity opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 6:00 PM from Tuesday to Sunday. The Laser Light and Sound Show can be viewed from 7:30 PM onwards daily, except on Mondays. The Statue of Unity is closed on Mondays for maintenance work.

The laser show will show the journey of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and its role to create India as a nation from various subcontinents. The show uses statues as a canvas with a beautiful mixture of laser lights, sound, graphics, and storytelling.  The 30-minute show leaves the viewers spellbound. There are a total of 51 high-resolution projectors using in the show. All of them are fixed at a distance of 600 meters. The show started at 6.45 pm and ended at 7.15 pm.

Us based global visual technology collaborated with Christie Crimson, Germany’s laser show producer firm and did the projection technicality. The whole team was responsible for the installation and integration of the show. Another fact is, it uses the high brightness projector. It installed first time in India.  The lenses and lasers can withstand in all weather conditions.