Ahmedabad gets ready to say 'Namaste' to Trump

Ahead of the POTUS' visit to India, the Ahmedabad city of Gujarat is all set to welcome Donald Trump on Monday when he will participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and jointly address a gathering at the 'Namaste Trump' event at a cricket stadium.

Ahmedabad:The Ahmedabad city of Gujarat is gearing up to welcome US President Donald Trump on his visit here on Monday when he will participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and jointly address a gathering at the 'Namaste Trump' event at the Sardar Patel Motera cricket stadium.

As per the plan, Trump and Modi will embark on a 22-km roadshow from the Ahmedabad airport, where the US President will be accorded a grand welcome.

Authorities believe over one lakh people are expected to line up along the route of the roadshow, which has been named as 'India Road Show' by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

"Hello Ahmedabad, Come,be a part of the 22 km long mega India Road Show. Lets showcase the best of Indian culture and diversity to the world. #Namaste Trump,"Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said in a tweet on Sunday.

Officials and security agencies are giving final touches to preparations for the US President's visit to the city.

Even as there is uncertainty over Trump's visit to Sabarmati Ashram during his roadshow, all preparations have been done in anticipation of this arrival there with Modi, officials of the ashram said.

The Sabarmati Ashram served as the epicenter of the country's freedom struggle during Mahatma Gandhi's stay there.

The city civic body is leaving no stone unturned to make the roadshow a memorable experience for the dignitaries as well as the people of Gujarat.

The civic body has invited artistes from almost all the states to perform during the roadshow.

Read:Road leading to Taj Mahal being cleaned up ahead of Trump's visit

There will be separate stage for each state at regular distance on the route and artistes from different states would perform on these 30-odd stages.

After the roadshow, Trump and Modi would reach the stadium at Motera for the 'Namaste Trump' event, where the two leaders would address a gathering of around 1.10 lakh people.

The cricket stadium at Motera is the world's largest with a capacity to accommodate 1.10 lakh spectators.

It has been completely rebuilt after demolishing the old one, which was built in 1982 with a seating capacity of 49,000 spectators.

Ahead of the address by Trump and Modi, a mega cultural programme will be held at the stadium where noted singer Kailesh Kher and many other artistes have been invited to entertain the crowd.

The city police earlier said that more than 10,000 security personnel, to be led by 25 senior IPS officers, will be deployed for the roadshow and the 'Namaste Trump' event.

The massive deployment will be in addition to officials of the United States Secret Service, and personnel of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Special
Protection Group (SPG) guarding the events.

The police will be also using the anti-drone technology to neutralise any suspicious drone on the route, officials said, adding that an anti-sniper team of the NSG will also be stationed along the route.

(PTI Report)