US President Donald Trump thanked India for its hospitability. (AP)
Over 10,000 policemen, 700 buses and the entire Gujarat government machinery came together to make the hour-long Namaste Trump event a show of strength for both heads of state — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump.
The BJP used its mobilisation skills to market the event as “once-in-a-lifetime” and managed to get the over one lakh crowd to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stadium in Motera on a warm, sunny afternoon. According to the organisers, people came in from as many as 13 districts.
The newly renovated stadium — the largest cricket stadium in the world with a capacity of 1 lakh 10 thousand — went through its most elaborate dress rehearsal on Monday as it hosted, besides Modi and Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and the top brass of the US and Indian governments. The planning for the event involved the Ministry of External Affairs, top security agencies SPG and NSG as well as the US Secret Service.
US President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a “Namaste Trump,” event in Ahmedabad (AP)
Ahmedabad collector K K Nirala told The Indian Express, “The last week of planning was at a very micro level with a focus on practicalities. Along with delegation of responsibilities, targets were set for different agencies. For instance, I was given charge of 700 buses for the transport of people from across the Ahmedabad district to the stadium. For this, extensive route planning in co-ordination with the police, how and from where people will board the buses, everything was planned, coordinated and communicated.”
BJP sources revealed how the political machinery was put to use. Party leaders said they were asked to mobilise as many people as possible by projecting this as a “once-in-a-lifetime” event. Prominent faces in the government, starting from Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, repeatedly stressed that the US President was landing “directly in Ahmedabad” on his first visit to India. Modi too repeated it at the Namaste Trump event to drive home the significance.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi hug at Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad (AP)
Of the four gates to the stadium, three were kept open and one was reserved for contingency, said sources.
Larsen & Toubro, which renovated the stadium at a cost of Rs 700 crore, said in a statement after the event that the stadium had been “built to last a century”. The stadium has 43 entry and exit points to the stands, and thus saw a smooth movement of visitors who had come to participate in the event.
“Engineering-wise, this has been one of the most challenging projects that involved erection of 9000-plus precast elements, including some weighing up to 280 metric tonnes,” said M V Satish, whole-time director and senior executive president (Buildings, Minerals & Metals), L&T. The company said it took about four years to renovate the stadium.
Crowd waves at the motorcade of US President Donald Trump in Ahmedabad (AP)
In a 4-km radius of the stadium, policemen were stationed at every intersection on Monday to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
Ahmedabad city police commissioner Ashish Bhatia was in charge of the planning for the event. Tasks of traffic management, transport of the visitors, VVIP security convoy and arrangements at the stadium and Sabarmati Ashram were shared among six IPS officers.
According to special commissioner Ajay Tomar, the responsibility for the security of the VVIPs during their movement from the airport to Sabarmati Ashram to Motera was with the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime branch.
President Donald Trump’s daughter and advisor Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner at the stadium. (AP)
“DCP, Ahmedabad Zone 4, (Nirajkumar Badgujar) was entrusted with the security arrangements at the airport and JCP, Sector 1 (Amit Kumar Vishwakarma) along with DCP Zone 2 (Dharmendra Sharma) were given the task of security arrangements inside the stadium. The responsibility for security arrangements at the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati was given to JCP (Admin) Vipul Agarwal and the deployment was handled by me,” said Tomar.
The onus of managing traffic and deciding opening and closure of routes was given to Joint Commissioner of Police J R Mothaliya.
People sport Trump and Modi masks at the event in Ahmedabad on Monday. (Express photo by Javed Raja)
As many as 25 IPS officers, 65 ACPs, 200 inspectors, 800 sub-inspectors and a total of 10,000 constables were involved in the security arrangements. At the state government level, the preparation for the event was monitored on daily basis by Chief Secretary Anil Mukim and reviewed by Chief Minister Rupani. Several senior bureaucrats, including Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, Pankaj Kumar and General Administration Department secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi, were involved in monitoring the planning.