Narmada District: Land of the Statue of Unity

Narmada district in southeastern Gujarat is home to the Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue at 182 metres, depicting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The statue stands on a rocky island in the Narmada river near Kevadiya and was inaugurated in 2018. The statue's engineering involved casting 1,700 tonnes of bronze facade over a concrete-steel core, using 3D scanning of Sardar Patel's face and figure for accuracy. The project transformed the tribal belt around Kevadiya from subsistence agriculture to a large-scale tourism economy, bringing benefits and disruptions to Adivasi communities. The Narmada river here is flanked by the Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Gujarat's biodiversity hotspots. The tribal communities (Tadvi Bhil, Vasava, Rathwa) of Narmada district have deep traditional connections to the river, seasonal forest produce, and paddy cultivation that predate the dam and statue projects.