Not 70 lakh, but 1-2 lakh to attend US President Donald Trump roadshow: Official

Contrary to the the claims made by US President Donald Trump on the expected crowd awaiting him in the city that has a population of less than 70 lakh, the civic officials here said that they are expecting a turn out of nearly two lakh people. Trump has claimed that Prime Minister Modi has told him that "we'll have 7 million people between the airport and the event."

Senior officials told DH that on the 22-km route of the roadshow will have a "committed" one lakh people lined up inside barricades all along the route while 1.10 lakh people will greet Trump, his wife Melania and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Motera cricket stadium.

The cricket stadium, hailed as world's biggest, is hosting "Namaste Trump" event on February 24 where only those will be allowed entry who have passes. These passes are said to be bar-coded and they can't be replaced. The passes will also have seat numbers and invitees have been asked to follow the instructions strictly. Sources said that passes are being issued on the basis of online registration and after checking antecedents. Meanwhile, at Motera village which is closed to the stadium, a small group of people raised slogans for not getting passes.

Nearly one lakh such passes will be issued to people from Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Anand, Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Vadodara, Surendranagar, Patan, Banaskantha among other districts. They have been asked to come in their traditional attires and based on themes of unique identities of their districts. To ferry them from different parts of the state, state government has arranged 2,500 buses.

Similarly, for the roadshow, a senior office told DH that "one lakh committed" audience will line up along the 22-km stretch. 28 stages, dedicated to all Indian states, are being erected along the way on which artists of each state will be performing to showcase country's diverse cultural heritage. Sources said that Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, which is spearheading this show, will be distributing Indian and American flags and caps to the onlookers.

Municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra had twitted on February 16, that "MaruAmdavad says #NamasteTrump #IndiaRoadShow is getting bigger & bigger. More than 1 lakh participants already confirmed for the 22 km roadshow. Great opportunity for #Ahmedabad to present Indian Culture to the World. Keep following @AmdavadAMC for more details.

In the past one week, the American President claimed that "He (Modi) says between the stadium and the airport, will have about 7 million (70 lakh) people. So its going to be very exciting. I hope you all enjoy it."

According to sources, the 22-km stretch for the roadshow may be reduced since there is still uncertainty over Trump's Sabarmati Ashram visit. Sources said the uncertainty is mostly due to "time constraints." Trump is likely to spend about three hours, between 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM, and depart for Agra and then New Delhi on the same day.