More than a month's preparation and mobilisation of all resources and agencies will pay off on Monday as US President Donald Trump touches down on Indian soil at the Sardar Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad around 11.40am.
Trump will be welcomed at the airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi will reach Ahmedabad about half an hour before the US president's aircraft lands. Trump is accompanied by wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. A high-level delegation is also accompanying him.
During his two-day trip, Trump is to visit Sabarmati Ashram (founded by Mahatma Gandhi) in Ahmedabad, take part in the 'Namaste Trump' event at Motera Cricket Stadium, visit Agra, go to Rajghat and hold talks with the prime minister and meet President Ramnath Kovind.
There is lot of excitement and hype about the first leg of Trump's tour in Ahmedabad.
The centre of attraction among all events is to be the Namaste Trump event at the world's largest cricket stadium—Motera cricket stadium. The stadium has been constructed at a cost of Rs 700 crore and it has a capacity to accommodate 1.10 lakh people, surpassing the seating capacity of the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
Top Bollywood singer Kailash Kher and Gujarati singers will perform at the event that is expected to be a mega cultural extravaganza.
After uncertainty about a visit to Sabarmati Ashram, it was confirmed late on Sunday night Trump will spend 15 minutes at the historic site associated with Mahatma Gandhi. At the Ashram, Trump and his wife will be taken to Hriday Kunj, where Gandhi stayed, and will be shown demonstration of how a charkha is operated. Trump will also write his comments in the visitors' book.
A source in the know of the way preparations have been done said that all it needed was the prime minister's decision to have Trump come to Gujarat and at the world's largest cricket stadium. The rest has been taken care of.
The Namaste Trump event is seen as reciprocation for the 'Howdy, Modi' event in Huston in September 2019. Modi had addressed people of Indian origin there. Trump was also present. In Ahmedabad, both the leaders will address the gathering.
After criticism poured in from various quarters, less than a week before Trump's arrival, a reception committee headed by Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel was set up.
An estimated sum of Rs 100 crore has been spent on doing up the roads, decorating the paths with fully grown trees and painting the walls.
The preparations, however, were not without controversy. A half-kilometre-long wall, apparently to hide slums, was made by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation near the airport. The height of the wall was reduced only after a hue and cry and reports in the media. If that was not enough, more than 50 slum dwellers near the stadium were served eviction notices.
Shops and businesses near Motera have been asked to remain shut till the event at the stadium gets over and Trump leaves for Agra.
Security too has been given topmost priority and the top brass of Gujarat Police will be on the ground to guide the force. This is in addition to the US Secret Service team and other agencies that will keep aerial vigil and also through CCTV cameras.
The opposition Congress has been critical of the pomp around the programmes.
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As far as Modi is concerned, a programme of such magnitude could have been possible only in Gujarat, the state in which he was the chief minister for over 13 years and had begun his career as an RSS pracharak.
The BJP in Gujarat is closely coordinating with all the agencies to get numbers at the stadium and for the 22km-long roadshow. Twenty-eight stages have been erected along the road and cultural glimpses of different states will be showcased.
Both Modi and Trump have shown enough excitement and given weightage to the two-day programme. Modi took to Twitter and said “India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad.” Trump retweeted Modi's tweet.
In the last several days, Trump has repeatedly mentioned the number of people that would be present during the roadshow and at the stadium.
