Thousands of police to guard against angry locals with prime minister expected to attend

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Thousands of police officers have been deployed to guard the world’s biggest statue, as Indian authorities anticipate protests at its inauguration by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

Authorities have planned a spectacular opening ceremony on Wednesday for the 182-metre (600ft) tall tribute to the Indian independence hero Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with air-force jets and helicopters to shower flowers on the statue during a flypast.

But officials in Gujarat state are worried that community groups could stage protests to demand compensation for land taken to erect the Statue of Unity, which cost 29.9bn rupees (£315m) and has taken nearly four years to build.

“More than 5,000 police personnel have been deployed at various points in the 10km radius of the statue site,” said the Narmada district police inspector general, Abhay Chudasama.

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“Police patrolling has been intensified in the wake of protests by the local tribal community and leaders. Drones and helicopters will be keeping watch on the entire area.”

There was a heavy police presence around the land from which families had been moved to build the statue, and local sources said several activists had “gone underground”.

Posters of Modi with Gujarat’s chief minister, Vijay Rupani, were torn down or had their faces blackened at the weekend. The chiefs of 22 villages near the statue signed an open letter calling on Modi to stay away from the inauguration.

Chotu Vasava, a local legislator and community group leader, repeated a threat to stage protests on the eve of the ceremonies around the statue of Patel, who played a key role in unifying India after its independence in 1947.

“I am not against Sardar, but what is the use of the statue if the people on the land have to suffer and are moved from their homes?” Vasava said.

More than 80% of the local population are from tribal groups with special protected status. The Gujarat government said the 185 families moved to make way for the statue had been compensated and given 1,200 acres (475 hectares) of new land.

Modi, whose nationalist government has made the statue one of its flagship projects ahead of a national election next year, arrived in Gujarat’s main city of Ahmedabad on Tuesday night. He is to pay tribute at the foot of the statue of Sardar.

Gujarat’s chief secretary, JN Singh, said dance troupes from across India would also perform at the inauguration.

The statue is more than twice the size of New York’s Statue of Liberty and also dwarfs the 128-metre Spring Temple Buddha in China, the world’s second-biggest statue.

Online booking to visit the Statue of Unity has opened, with a 350 rupee (£3.75) admission fee for the 153-metre high observation deck.

Authorities hope the statue will attract 15,000 visitors a day to the remote corner of Gujarat, which is about 60 miles (100km) from the nearest big city, Vadodara.

However, the statue’s reign as record holder could be short-lived, with work due to begin on an even larger statue of a Hindu king off the coast of Mumbai.