Hundreds to be homeless, for ‘namaste  Trump’

After being sealed with the wall, Ahmedabad slums have been served eviction notices.

At least 45 families living in the slum near the newly-built Motera stadium will be homeless soon.

Ahmedabad municipal corporation wants to clear the area ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit on February 24.

The eviction notices come even as the civic body builds a 400-metre wall to block the view of the slum.

This slum lies along a route the US President may take during his visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home-state.

The eviction notices read: "You have encroached upon a plot of land belonging to the AMC...

... Evict the plot in another seven days with your household chattels, otherwise, a departmental action will be taken to evict the land.

If you have to make any representation, you can do so on February 19 at 3 pm."

The slum is located around one-and-a-half km away from the Motera stadium.

A slum-dweller, Shailesh Bilwa, claimed  that officials of the AMC had visited them several times in the last seven days.

"We have been living here for over a decade. We had never been served any eviction notice in the past. Why now," questioned the slum dwellers.

Most of the families in the slum have no alternative shelter if they were forced out.

"We are ready to vacate, but we need an alternative accommodation, otherwise we will be forced to live on pavements."

"We live here with our family members comprising women and children...

... We pray to the government to provide us with an alternative plot where we can live," said Shailesh Bilwa.

He claimed that officials of the AMC had been asking them to vacate the plot for the last seven days.

"Some of them even threatened to use force against us," he alleged.

"Namaste Trump" programme at the stadium has come as a nightmare to these families.

PM Modi and Mr Trump are scheduled to address over one lakh people at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera on February 24.

The "Namaste Trump" event is being organised on the lines of the "Howdy Modi" event in Houston last year.

Around Rs 30 crore has been spent on widening roads and improving infrastructure around the new stadium.

The eviction exercise is a perfect example of government's 'gareebi nahi gareebon ko hatao' belief.