All You Need to Know about How L&T built the Statue of Unity | News Cover

News Cover: 71 years into independence despite the obstacles in its way India has clearly chosen the path of unity. 

    When the British left India there were 565 princely states with the option of joining India, Pakistan or remaining independent. The mammoth task of integrating each princely state with the Dominion of India fell upon the shoulders of one man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, our first Deputy Prime Minister, and Home Minister. He made the impossible possible. History called him the Iron Man of India - the great unifier. 

   Fittingly his birthday on 31st October is marked as Rashtriya Ekta Divas. It has been a long-standing dream of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to pay tribute to the great Sardar Patel. On 31st October 2013, Shri Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the foundation for the tallest statue in the world - The Statue of Unity. In keeping with its ethos L&T; took up the challenge head-on. Located on Sadhu Bet, 3.5 kilometers from the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada the Statue of Unity is an unparalleled confluence of engineering and art. 

  Although L&T; had successfully completed a plethora of prestigious projects including power plants and commercial complexes, a structure of such scale was one of a kind. The honor of sculpting Sardar Patel's likeness went to Patma Bhushan awardee Ram Sutra. The first challenge was to select an apt pose and expression to do justice to him. Although L&T;'s role was that of an EPC contractor, they still took an active interest in the selection process. Extensive discussions with historians and experts ensued.

     After sifting through thousands of photographs the team was unanimous in how the statue should look. Shri Ram Sutar created sculptures in varying sizes honing every detail again and again. The latest 3D scanning techniques and computer-controlled production ensured accurate reproduction of minute details. Immense statues the world over have a broad base to achieve structural stability.

    Sardar Patel statue was slated to be the tallest ever and the greatest task was to achieve the design. His dothi needed to end above the ankle. He is in a walking stance. Thus the feet were not parallelly aligned. The assertive stride meant a gap between the feet. But the LNT team was equal to the task. Operations commenced in 2013 with exhaustive surveys of the land, riverbed, river, and wind. This was followed by critical engineering design - a test of L&T;'s experience and technical capability. 

    In such a remote location, planning and logistics would be the key to all the operations. The Loha campaign was launched in earnest with a view to employing used implements donated by farmers around the country as a symbolic tribute. This iron forms the steel rebar in the raft foundation - a homage to the Iron Man of India. A reinforced concrete core created with critical concreting methods gave the structure a stable base. This would support the primary and secondary steel trussing. The bronze plates then covered the entire structure forming the sculpture. Locally available Sandstone and Baswara marble have also been used. 

   Besides the statue is the key element like the Memorial and Visitors Center, main access bridge, bridges and roads were made to precision. The Shrestha Bharat Bhavan is a three-star facility for the tourists and guests. To bring socio-economic development to the region, students and vendors from nearby villages and towns were also trained for the project, thereby generating ample employment. 

   The ultra-modern BIM technology for the design and project monitoring brought synchrony between the team and 30 consultants globally. The statue houses two 200 tons suspended tuned mass dampers to make it stable enough to withstand violent winds plus seismic activity. L&T; created macro panel assemblies on-site for the smaller micro panel bronze castings. This ensured speed and seamless assembly. Every plate was unique and RFID tagged and bolted in its place. 

   As work progressed at blazing speed the engineered structure transformed and the statue began to take shape. Designers, engineers, experts, specialists, and workers from different parts of India have toiled night and day in a united effort unto one goal - The Statue of Unity. Colossal enough to remind future generations of his epochal contribution. 

  A structure as enduring as the vision of modern Indian nationhood. As Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel himself said, "Mankind without unity is not a strength, only when harmonized by unity doesn't become a spiritual power."