US President Donald Trump’s three-hour visit in Ahmedabad on February 24 is expected to cost â¹80 crore to â¹85 crore to the exchequer, an amount equivalent to 1.5 per cent of the annual budget of Gujarat.
According to a Reuters report, over 12,000 police personnel will be deployed for the grand event that will include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump’s roadshow in Ahmedabad. The US president will also inaugurate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium. The event Around 1.25 lakh people are expected to the inauguration.
As per the route plan by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation authorities, Trump and Modi will visit the Sabarmati Ashram close to the airport. Both the leaders will then take SP Ring Road via the Indira Bridge to reach the stadium.
‘Eighteen roads of about 20 kilometres in length from Ahmedabad airport to Motera stadium have been widened,’ Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said, claiming, all of this was planned way before Trump’s visit was confirmed. Nehra added that the civic body spent â¹3 crore for the widening of the roads and improving infrastructure around the new cricket stadium.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is also building a 400-metre wall along the road connecting the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to Indira Bridge, to hide a slum in the city.
Among other preparations, the civic body will carry out a plantation drive along the route and will plant date palms along the Sabarmati Riverfront stretch. This beautification drive costs â¹60 million.
Trump is also likely to visit the Taj Mahal, due to which all police officers were ordered to cancel their leaves for security requirements.
PM Modi has hosted several world leaders in Gujarat. President of China, Xi Jinping visit the state in 2014, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also visited Gujarat.
