India's Statue of Unity is the tallest statue in the world , to the point that the outstretched arms of the Statue of Liberty barely reach her stomach.
The Unity Statue, 182 meters tall, is located 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 bronze. 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 Giant Buddha in China, standing at over 54 meters tall.
The Unity Statue project was announced by Narendra Modi in October 2013, when he was serving as Chief Minister of Gujarat. The statue was completed in October 2018, marking the 143rd anniversary of Patel's birth. By then, Modi had become Prime Minister of India.
"The statue will remind those who question India's existence that it was, is and will be eternal. The height of the statue will remind the youth that the future of the country will be just as great. 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 Indian warrior king and founder of the 17th-century Maratha empire. The statue was expected to be completed by 2022, but it has yet to be completed and no new inauguration date has been set.
Thu Thao (According to IFL Science )
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