Gujarat readies ‘Statue of Unity’ for US

AHMEDABAD: If you walk around Gulbai Tekra, you won’t miss the towering statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by the road. This is not the Statue of Unity, but a replica of the world’s tallest statue that is to be installed in Gujarat.
When lakhs of spectators will gather at Madison Avenue in Manhattan to witness the largest Indian Independence Day celebrations overseas, a 12-foot statue of India’s first home minister will be the eye-catcher.
An artisan in Gulbai Tekra, an area considered a hub of idol-making in the city, has readied a 12-foot prototype of statue of the India’s first home minister. This will be the main highlight of the 34th India Day parade in New York City on August 17.
The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) had recently contacted an Ahmedabad-based advertising agency, Gracia Marcom, for a fibre statue of Patel that will be part of the Independence Day tableau.
FIA of the tri-state area — New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — is one of the largest umbrella organizations of the Indian diaspora and represents them at the local, state and national levels.
Rohit Korat, a founding partner at Gracia Marcom, told TOI, “We were contacted by FIA president Ankur Vaidya in June. The statue is in final stages of completion and will be dispatched soon.”
Last year, social activist Anna Hazare and Bollywood actor Vidya Balan had led America’s largest India Day parade. The highlight of that parade was a replica of the Red Fort in an 80x10 feet area in Manhattan, near the parade route which was to showcase India’s heritage.
The 597.11-foot Statue of Unity, a tribute to the Iron Man of India, will be built at the Sadhu-Bet Island, around 3.5km south of the Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in Narmada district. The project is estimated to cost Rs 2,063 crore and be completed in four years.

The 12-foot statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat.