The Statue of Unity in Gujarat is not developing any cracks- the viral image is old

The viral image is from October 2018 during the construction work of the Statue of Unity

A few days ago, the statue of Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fell in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, due to severe winds. Following this, the turmoil in the state’s politics had not yet dissipated, when an image of the world’s largest statue, the ‘Statue of Unity’, created in Narmada, Gujarat, gone viral. This statue depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the country’s first Home Minister. In the viral image, some gaps are apparent at the statue’s feet. According to the image shared, cracks have begun to develop in the Statue of Unity. The users who shared the image claims that the monument ‘can fall anytime’.

Let’s check the truth

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Fact Check- 

We started our investigation with a reverse image search on Google and the results led us to a report published by the Washington Post in October 2018. It states that India’s new Statue of Unity depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, an independence-era leader credited with uniting the nation in the 1940s when he served as India’s first home minister. According to the caption given here, this image is from the time when the statue was being made. The credit for the picture has been given to Divyakant Solanki of the European Press Photo Agency (EPA).

The New York Times also shared this image in an article dated 31October, 2018.The caption of the photo in the article said that the workers engaged in the construction of the statue completed their work on October 18. According to the information given here, this photo was clicked before the inauguration of the statue.

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Apart from this, the fact checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Government of India has also refuted the viral claim. PIB tweeted that the claim of cracks in the statue of Sardar Patel is not true.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be Misleading. The Statue of Unity is not developing any cracks, the viral image is from October 2018 during the construction work of the Statue of Unity, which is why certain portions are incomplete and appear as if they have cracks.