PM Modi Pays Tribute at Statue of Unity and Launches Rs 427 Crore Projects on Patel Jayanti

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on Saturday with floral tributes at the Statue of Unity at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, before inaugurating and laying foundation stones for 31 tourism and infrastructure projects worth Rs 426.71 crore in the Statue of Unity area. The projects include an IRCTC hotel built at a cost of Rs 50 crore, the Ekta Cruise costing Rs 16 crore, a Rain Forest attraction worth Rs 14.30 crore and an Eco Trail costing Rs 3.67 crore. The Prime Minister also visited the Rain Forest and the Vaman Vriksha Vatika during the day. The centrepiece of the day is the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebration in the evening, featuring the Ekta Parade with contingents of Central Armed Police Forces, state police forces and central police organisations, along with a cultural presentation by around 5,000 artistes. This year’s parade, with around 10,000 police and paramilitary personnel taking part, also highlights India’s achievement in ending armed Naxalism in 2026 through three special performances, followed by an address by the Prime Minister. On Friday, the Prime Minister had visited Ekta Prakash Parv 2026 at Ekta Nagar, taking in illuminated displays depicting the cultural traditions of the country’s four regions, a day before the anniversary celebrations. Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is observed every year on 31 October to mark Patel’s birth anniversary and to honour his contribution to the political integration of the country. Patel, India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister after Independence in 1947, oversaw the integration of more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union, an achievement that earned him the title of Iron Man of India. The Statue of Unity, at 182 metres the world’s tallest statue, was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Modi on 31 October 2018. Saturday’s tributes and the new projects at Ekta Nagar carry forward that legacy, combining remembrance of the man who united India with fresh investment in tourism and infrastructure around his memorial.