COVID-19 Latest
World|life|October 31, 2018 / 03:28 PM
Modi unveils towering statue of India's independence leader

AKIPRESS.COM - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a 182-metre statue, the world's tallest, to honour Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the country’s founding fathers and its first home minister.

The $430m Statue of Unity, built on an island in Narmada river, was inaugurated by Modi on Wednesday in the western Indian state of Gujarat, home to both Patel and Modi, Al Jazeera reported.

Patel was deputy to Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, also the great grandfather of current Congress party president, Rahul Gandhi.

Around 3,500 workers and 250 engineers worked to build the gigantic statue made of concrete, steel and bronze panels, located on the island called 'Sadhu Bet', around 200km from Gujarat's capital city, Ahmedabad.

Another controversial statue, that of 17th century Maratha warrior, Shivaji Bhosle, is currently being built in Mumbai.

Both the statues dwarf the Statue of Liberty in height and together cost almost $1bn.

All rights reserved

© AKIpress News Agency - 2001-2024.

Republication of any material is prohibited without a written agreement with AKIpress News Agency.

Any citation must be accompanied by a hyperlink to akipress.com.

Our address:

299/5 Chingiz Aitmatov Prosp., Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic

e-mail: english@akipress.org, akipressenglish@gmail.com;

Follow us:

Log in


Forgot your password? - recover

Not registered yet? - sign-up

Sign-up

I have an account - log in

Password recovery

I have an account - log in