NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 25, 2018 (CNN): India is set to unveil the world’s tallest statue next week, the towering figure of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a popular political and social leader, who was part of the freedom struggle that resulted in India’s independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Looming 182 meters (597 feet) above the Narmada River in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the statue is set to be unveiled on October 31, revealing a figure molded from approximately 1,850 metric tons of bronze.
“In the world, people talk about America’s Statue of Liberty. We want to make a statue of Sardar Patel at twice the size of the statue of Liberty,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2013. The Statue of Liberty is 93 meters (305 feet) high, including its pedestal. The ambitious project was announced by Modi in 2010, when he was still the chief minister for the state of Gujarat. Built with funds allocated by the Gujarat state government, it has also received support from the federal government and individual contributions. The Statue of Unity is not the only one that is waiting to break records. A new statue dedicated to a famous Maharashtrian warrior, Shivaji, is being built in the Arabian ocean, just off the coast of Mumbai, set to reach a height of 212 meters (695 feet).
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