India to unveil world’s tallest statue
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the world’s tallest statue next month in western state of Gujarat, officials said.
The statue has been constructed to honour the country’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
“The Statue of Unity will be inaugurated by Modi on Oct. 31,” Gujarat’s Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told reporters on Sunday on the sidelines of the two-day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive meeting in New Delhi.
The Statue of Unity, which is 182 meters from the ground and 240 meters from the river base of Narmada, has been completed, officials said.
Patel, a leader of Indian National Congress party, was deputy to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru after India became independent in 1947. He was also the first home minister of India.
The inauguration of the statue will be done on Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary, officials said.
According to Rupani, BJP had collected iron, soil and water from across India to build the statue.
The decision to built the statue was announced by Modi in 2013 when he was chief minister of Gujarat.
*Reported by Xinhua
