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BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 484
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 484 – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST- 484
READING PASSAGE – 3
The Statue of Unity – world’s tallest statue
The Statue of Unity is a massive statue of Indian statesman and independence activist Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950), who was the foremost Deputy Prime Minister and Home minister of independent India and the chief adherent of Mahatma Gandhi during the non-violent Indian Independence movement. Patel was highly appreciated for his leadership in uniting the 562 princely states of India to form the single Union of India.
It is positioned in the state of Gujarat, India. It is the world’s tallest statue with a height of (597 ft) 182 metres. It is situated on a river facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on river Narmada in Kevadiya colony, 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the city of Vadodara and 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Surat.
The project was primary proclaimed in 2010 and the construction of the statue started in October 2013 by Larsen & Toubro, with an overall construction cost of Rs 2,989 crores. It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar and was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018, the 143rd birth anniversary of Patel. The statue portrays Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the most eminent leaders of the Indian independence movement, the first home minister as well as the first Deputy Prime Minister of Independent India, and in charge for the integration of hundreds of princely states into the contemporary Republic of India.
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After studying abundant statues of Patel across the country, a team of historians, artists, and academics chose to advance with a design submitted by the Indian sculptor, Ram V. Sutar. The Statue of Unity is a much greater copy of a statue of the leader installed at Ahmedabad International Airport. Remarking on the design, Ram Sutar’s son, Anil Sutar, clarifies that “the expression, posture and pose validate the dignity, confidence, iron will as well as kindness that his personality displays.
The head is up, a shawl flung from shoulders and hands are on the side as if he is set to walk”. Three models of the design measuring 3 feet (0.91 m), 18 feet (5.5 m), and 30 feet (9.1 m) were primarily formed. Once the design of the largest model was permitted, a detailed 3D-scan was formed which formed the foundation for the bronze cladding cast in a foundry in China.
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Patel’s dhoti-clad legs and the use of sandals for footwear purified the design thinner at the base than at the top thereby affecting its firmness. This was addressed by preserving a slenderness ratio of 16:19 rather than the customary 8:14 ratio of other tall buildings. The statue is built to endure winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour (110 mph) and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale which are at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue. This is assisted using two 250-tonne tuned mass dampers which confirm extreme stability.
The total height of the structure is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and statue of 182 m (597 ft). The height of 182 was precisely chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. The Statue of Unity was constructed by Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money raised by the Government of Gujarat.
The Gujarat state government had allotted Rs. 500 crore (equivalent to Rs. 564 crore or US$79 million in 2018) for the project in the budget from 2012 to 2015. In the 2014-15 Union Budget, Rs. 200 crore (equivalent to Rs. 239 crore or US$33 million in 2018) were allocated for the building of the statue. Funds were also donated by Public Sector Undertakings under Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.
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A consortium encompassing Turner Construction, Michael Graves and Associates and the Meinhardt Group administered the project. It took 57 months to complete – 15 months for planning, 40 months for construction and two months for handing over by the consortium. The total cost of the project was projected to be around Rs. 2,063 crore (equivalent to Rs. 25 billion or US$350 million in 2018) by the government. The tender bids for the first stage were requested in October 2013 and were shut in November 2013. Narendra Modi, then serving as Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the statue’s foundation stone on 31 October 2013, the 138th anniversary of Patel’s birth.
Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro gained the contract on 27 October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (equivalent to ₹36 billion or US$500 million in 2018) for the design, structure and maintenance. They began the construction on 31 October 2014. In the primary phase of the project, Rs. 1,347 crore were for the main statue, Rs. 235 crore for the exhibition hall and convention centre, Rs. 83 crore for the bridge linking the memorial to the mainland and Rs. 657 crore for the maintenance of the structure for 15 years after its accomplishment. The Sadhu Bet hillock was compressed from 70 to 55 metres to lay the foundation.
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L&T hired over 3000 workers and 250 engineers in the statue’s construction. The core of the statue used 210,000 cubic metres (7,400,000 cu ft) of cement concrete, 6500 tonnes of structural steel, and 18500 tonnes of reinforced steel. The outer façade is made up of 1700 tonnes of bronze plates and 1850 tonnes of bronze cladding which in turn encompass 565 macro and 6000 micro panels. The bronze panels were cast in Jiangxi Tongqing Metal Handicrafts Co. Ltd (the TQ Art Toundry) in China as appropriate facilities were inaccessible in India. The bronze panels were transported over sea and then by road to the workshop near the construction site where they were accumulated.
Local tribal belonging to the Tadvi tribe conflict land acquisition for the growth of tourism infrastructure around the statue. They have been offered cash and land reward and have been provided jobs. People of Kevadia, Kothi, Waghodia, Limbdi, Navagam, and Gora villages opposed the construction of the statue and demanded the compensation of the land rights over 375 hectares (927 acres) of land attained earlier for the dam as well as the construction of new Garudeshwar subdistrict. They also opposed the construction of Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA) and the structure of Garudeshwar weir-cum-causeway project. The government of Gujarat accepted their demands.
Construction of the monument was accomplished in mid-October 2018; and the inaugural ceremony was held on 31 October 2018 (143rd birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel), chaired over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The statue has been labelled as a tribute to Indian engineering skills.
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Questions 28-35
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
TRUE – If the statement agrees with the information
FALSE – If the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN – If there is no information on this
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 484
28. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the first prime minister of independent India.
29. The statue was designed by Larsen & Toubro.
30. The bronze cladding used in the statue was casted in China.
31. The height of the base of the statue is 58 meters.
32. The construction of that statue went on for 57 months.
33. L & T hired 3000 workers and 250 engineers for the statue construction.
34. The statue has a total of 6000 bigger bronze cladding panels.
35. The statue was inaugurated in mid-October.
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Questions 36-40
Write no more than THREE WORDS and/or a number for each answer
36. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel united ……………….. princely states.
37. The statue can tolerate wind speeds of up to ……………….. kms.
38. The height of statue is ……………….. m.
39. ……………….. laid the foundation stone of the statue.
40. The bronze panels used in the statues were transported from china through ………………..
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ANSWERS
28. FALSE
29. FALSE
30. TRUE
31. TRUE
32. FALSE
33. TRUE
34. FALSE
35. FALSE
36. 562
37. 180
38. 182
39. NARENDRA MODI
40. SEA
IELTS Academic Reading Test