Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat’s Narmada district on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel today.
PM Modi arrived in Ahmedabad on Tuesday night ahead of the unveiling.
The 182-metre structure of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is touted as the world’s tallest. It is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US and is built on Sadhu Bet, an islet near the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
Modi will reach the Kevadiya Colony near the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district on Wednesday morning to unveil the statue.
Here are the LIVE updates:
10:15 am: PM Modi arrives for the inauguration of Statue of Unity. BJP President Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy CM Nitin Patel and Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel are also present at the venue.
09:30 am: PM Modi visits Tent City ahead of unveiling of the statue.
09:00 am: At the launch ceremony, PM Modi will pour soil and Narmada water into a ‘kalash’ to mark the dedication of the statue. He will then arrive at the Wall of Unity to inaugurate it. At the feet of the statue, Modi will perform a special prayer to mark the occasion.
08:45 am: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is in Chennai, said, “Post our freedom movement, Sardar Patel worked hard to get more than 550 princely states together to make India one. It’s only right that we remember him today.”
08:40 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reaches Kevadiya in Gujarat. He will inaugurate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Statue of Unity in a short while.
08:35 am: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman flags off and participates in Run For Unity in Chennai on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
08:30 am: Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flag off Run For Unity in Guwahati on occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
08:25 am: Visuals from Kevadiya, Gujarat, ahead of the inauguration of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Statue of Unity today.
08:20 am: Paying homage to Sardar Patel on Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said, “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s statue which is the tallest in the world should have been made years ago. India has today paid tribute to a man who built India.”
07:35 am: Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore flag off “Run for Unity” in Delhi on 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Gymnast Dipa Karmakar among other sportsperson also present.
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
07:20 am: PM Narendra Modi tweets ahead of the unveiling of the statue.
“We bow to the great Sardar Patel, the stalwart who unified India and served the nation tirelessly, on his Jayanti.”
07:15 am: At a special function held at the capital’s Patel Chowk, the President and others paid floral tributes at the statue of India’s first Home Minister on his 143rd birth anniversary, which is observed as ‘Rashtriya Ekta Divas’
07:15 am: Preseident Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and a host of dignitaries Wednesday offered floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 143rd birth anniversary.
