Donald Trump will arrive in India on February 24. (File)
Tight security arrangements have been made in Ahmedabad as the city prepares for the first visit of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. Places that they will visit or pass through along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be guarded by National Security Guard commandos' anti-sniper units.
PM Modi will inaugurate the world's largest cricket stadium at Ahmedabad's Motera. The stadium, being built at a cost of Rs 800 crore, has a capacity to hold 1.25 lakh spectators and is on the verge of completion. It is here that the 'Kem Chho Trump' event will be held.
President Trump and the First Lady will first visit the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati. The journey from there to the stadium has been converted into a road show.
"The entire vicinity of the airport area, the roadshow, the Sabarmati Ashram and the Motera stadium will be supervised by the Ahmedabad police. More than 25 IPS officers, 65 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 200 police inspectors, 800 police sub-inspectors and around 10,000 police personnel will be deployed. Teams of Special Protection Group (SPG) have already arrived in the city and are reviewing the security. The NSG's anti-sniper units will place themselves at strategic locations. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) units have already started their anti-sabotage checking," Ahmedabad Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Patel told reporters.
"A guard of honour will be given to the US President and the First Lady when they arrive at the airport. From the airport, the dignitaries will go to the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati and then they will be taken to the Motera stadium," he added.
The area within the 1.5 km radius of the stadium has been fortified. Outside this radius, 28 parking spaces are allotted for visitors. District delegations have been assigned specific routes right from their places to the stadium.
The Ahmedabad police in coordination with the Special Protection Group, state Intelligence Bureau and secret services has planned elaborate arrangements," Mr Patel said
The 'Kem Chho Trump' is the reciprocation of the 'Howdy Modi' event for PM Mod in Texas last year.