Patel statue: First phase of iron collection ends in UP

The BJP Monday announced the completion of the first phase of "lauh sangrah" (collection of iron) in Uttar Pradesh for its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's ambitious Sardar Patel statue project.

State in-charge and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Om Prakash Singh said the project covered 54,159 gram panchayats in the state.

He said this included 43,000 villages spread across 57 districts of the state. The iron collection target was cent percent in 29 districts, 90 percent in 11 districts and between 80 and 90 percent in 14 districts.

The lowest collection (50-70 percent) was from the remaining three districts -- Rae Bareli, Jhansi and Sambhal. Of these, the Congress is in power in the first two and the Samajwadi Party in the third.

The former UP minister who spearheaded the campaign added the second phase of the collection drive would begin soon in the remaining 18 districts.

He said the campaign would be again initiated in those districts where the results were unimpressive after identifying the reasons behind the poor show.

The Statue of Unity is a monument of Patel that will be 182 metres in height and to come up directly facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away on an island called Sadhu Bet, near Bharuch in Gujarat. On completion, it will be the tallest statue in the world.