JOIN USMamallapuram gets massive facelift to welcome Modi, Xi
Roads being re-laid and cleared of garbage, grasses on both sides of the highway being pruned, road-side shops being removed, a fresh coating of paint for important buildings and new floor tiles for monuments that would glitter with fancy LED lights.
This is how the ancient port city of the famed Pallava Kingdom is getting ready to host next week its two most high-profile visitors – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. If there is one town that truly lives up to the ‘Swachh Bharat’ mission today in India, it would surely be Mamallapuram.
Locals quip this coastal town, whose population is less than 25,000 people, hadn’t seen so much of development work at one go in the past so many decades.
The town that houses rock structures will host Modi and Xi for three days, according to the itinerary which might undergo change - the two leaders are likely to visit four monuments – Shore Temple, Arjuna’s Penance, Krishna’s Butterball and Five Rathas - and pose for pictures.
Statues of Gautama Buddha would welcome the leaders at vantage points, signifying the rich ties between the two countries, as it is believed Bodhi Dharma of the Pallava dynasty had carried the message of Buddha and propagated Buddhism in China.
Tamil Nadu Police have brought the entire area under their control by checking every vehicle that passes-by and imposing a blanket ban on surfing and all water activities along the 20-km stretch from Kovalam to Mamallapuram.
At the monuments where the leaders would visit, hundreds of labourers are sweating it out to lay new granite flooring, install brand new LED lights, erecting iron fences and landscaping the area by using natural grass brought from Karnataka.
Some 500 road-side shops located close to the monuments, the centre of attraction of tourists, and elsewhere in the town have already been closed, causing hardship to the owners. Also, details of the residents have been collected by the police, who keep a strict vigil round the clock, besides keeping tab on foreign visitors.