Ahmedabad civic body builds 7 feet wall to cover slum on Trump route

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is building a wall along the road that connects Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport to the Indira Bridge, supposedly to hide the slum in that area from view while Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi go on a roadshow through that route. The US President will be visiting the city on February 24, the first day of his two-day visit to India.

“The 6-7 feet high wall is being erected to cover the slum area on an estimated 600-metre stretch. This will be followed by plantation drive along the stretch,” The Indian Express quoted a senior AMC official who did not want to be named as saying.

Related news | Roadshow, ‘Howdy Modi’-like event planned for Trump in Ahmedabad

The wall, which is being built as part of a beautification drive around the airport and the newly-constructed Sardar Patel Stadium, is more than half a kilometre long and around six to seven feet high. The AMC is also planning to plant date palm trees along the Sabarmati Riverfront.

Education departments in Ahmedabad and Gujarat University have been instructed to arrange for 25,000 students each for the roadshow. Apart from that, around 1,000 teachers from each rural and urban government school in the district have been asked to participate in the event.

Related news | US President Trump says looking forward to India visit

Trump and Modi are slated to inaugurate the newly-constructed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in the city’s Motera area and address a gathering, likely to be attended by over one lakh people, sources said.

The mega event at the stadium will be similar to the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event held in the US last year, they said. Modi and Trump shared the stage at Houston in September last year and addressed a record crowd of 50,000 Indian-Americans.

Citizens here have dubbed the upcoming visit of the US president at the Sardar Patel Stadium as ‘Kem Chho, Trump!’ (Howdy Trump) event, the sources said.

Excited for India trip, says Melania Trump

US First Lady Melania Trump has said that she is “excited” for her trip to India along President Donald Trump later this month. In a tweet, Melania Trump said her maiden trip to India as the First Lady is an occasion to celebrate the close ties between the two countries.

Thank you @narendramodi for the kind invitation. Looking forward to visiting Ahmedabad & New Dehli later this month. @POTUS & I are excited for the trip & to celebrate the close ties between the #USA & #India. https://t.co/49LzQPiVLf

— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) February 12, 2020

“Looking forward to visiting Ahmedabad and New Delhi later this month. President Trump and I are excited for the trip and to celebrate the close ties between the USA and India,” she said.