Ahmedabad, February 13: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is building a wall along the road connecting the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to Indira Bridge. The wall is being constructed reportedly to hide the slum area on the likely route that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take for a roadshow. Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will visit India from February 24-25. 'Kem Chho Trump': Ahmedabad Gears Up For Special Event to Highlight PM Modi-Donald Trump Bonhomie, Over 1.25 Lakh to Attend.
Trump will land the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on February 24. A roadshow is expected to be held from the airport to Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera where "Kem Cho Trump" event will be held on the lines of "Howdy, Modi", which was held in Houston last year. On the route of the roadshow, decades-old Dev Saran or Saraniyavaas slum area comes. The slums have an estimated population of 2,500. Donald Trump Expects 5-7 Million People Will Welcome Him in Ahmedabad.
Apparently, to ensure that Trump doesn't get a sight of the slum, the AMC is building the wall, which is more than half a kilometre long and six to seven feet high. The construction is a part of a "beautification drive" around the Ahmedabad airport and Sardar Patel Stadium. "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," a civic body official was quoted by Indian Express as saying.
A similar "beautification drive" was carried out when Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe visited Gujarat for two days in 2017, and when China’s President Xi Jinping visited in 2014. Asked about the wall construction, Bijal Patel, Mayor of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, said she was unaware of it. "I haven't seen it and don't know about it," she told reporters.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 13, 2020 03:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).