US President Donald Trump is going to visit India on 24th-25th February 2020. He will be coming for a roadshow that will be held in Ahmadabad so, naturally preparations for this event are underway. 

www.bbc.com

And, as part of the preparation, reportedly, wall is being constructed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in a bid to ‘hide slum areas’ from the view of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The wall that is being built is supposed to be over half-a-kilometer long and 7-feet high. 

thewire.in

The wall is coming up in front of the Dev Saran or Saraniyavaas slum area, which is home to almost 2,500 people who have been living there for several decades. This obviously gives rise to many questions as to why this is being done?

indianexpress.com

Apparently, the wall will be extended from the Ahmedabad airport to Gandhinagar as part of a beautification plan before Trump’s visit. 

www.thequint.com

The ‘Kem Cho Trump’ event is basically being seen as Modi’s reciprocative gesture to Donald Trump who joined him at the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston last year. According to reports, the entire beautification is expected to cost around ₹50 crores.

People on social media are also questioning the reason behind the construction of the wall to ‘cover up’ slum areas: 

A similar beautification drive was held 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.