The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) on Thursday said it has set up State, district and grassroot levels committee to collect iron and sand needed for building the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (statue of unity) in Gujarat.
State Coordinator of lauh Sangrahan Sahyog Samiti Ramesh Bais said several senior leaders of the party are members of the State-level committee. They include State General Secretary (Organisation) Ram Pratap Singh, State Coordinator Sachidanand Upasane, Dayaram Sahu, Shivratan Sharma, Bhupendra Singh Savani, Ranvijay Singh Judev and other leaders.
The 600-feet-tall statue of unity would be built in an island in the middle of the Narmada River near Bharuch in Gujarat. The statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would have a total height of 240 metre from the base, which includes base level of 58 metre. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is also better known as Iron Man of India. The statue is the dream project of Gujarat Chief Minister and the BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi.
The BJP and its linked organisations have been collecting iron and sand from the farmers from all parts of the country. From each and every village, a part of iron would be collected, whose weight would not be more than one kilogram, so that it won’t be burden on the farmers. The aim of the statue is to symbolise the unity of the people and would be a collective tribute to Patel.
State Coordinator Sachidanand Upasane said the district level committees have also been formed to collect the iron and sand from across the State. The committees have been taking the message to every people in their respective regions and have been receiving wide support. Gujarat Chief Minister and the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project on October 31 which marked the 138th birth anniversary of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The statue to be built in Gujarat would be world’s tallest statue.