Gujarat plans Ekata Yatra in 10,000 villages to mark Statue of Unity inauguration

The statue is 182 metre high and will be the highest in the world after installation will be formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

The state government said today that 10,000 villages would be covered through specially prepared raths in two phases in October and November to mark inauguration of the landmark.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched www.ektayatra.com providing details of the planned yatra on Friday.

"To communicate and reinforce the present-day relevance of Sardar Patel's message; To convey the message of communal harmony for a strong and united India; To arouse feeling of nationalism, and to move beyond caste and religion-oriented approach," the website stated.

The government said in a release that essay, quiz and debate competiti8ons about Sardar Patel's life would also be organised as a part of the yatra. Videos about Sardar Patel's life, and about the Statue of Unity project, would be shown to the masses during the yatra. Coming up in Narmada district, work on the Statue is expected to be completed by October 25, a week before its slated inauguration.