Ahmedabad: A half-kilometer brick wall has been hastily erected in India's Gujarat state ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump, with critics saying it was built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2,000 people.
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"Since they are spending so much money on this wall, why not use that to improve our slum and provide better facilities for us," said Keshi Saraniya, a resident. "Why are they hiding us poor people?"
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Trump is visiting the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat during a two-day trip to India next week to attend an event called "Namaste Trump," which translates to "Greetings, Trump," at a cricket stadium along the lines of a "Howdy Modi" rally attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston last September.
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Trump is to drive along a road next to the slum and will be accompanied by Modi, who is from Gujarat.
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News reports said the wall was originally planned to be 6-7 feet (1.8-2.1 meters) high but was reduced to 4 feet (1.2 meters) after it received widespread publicity.
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Senior government official Bijal Patel said the wall was built "for security reasons" and not to conceal the slum. "Apart from security reasons, the wall is also part of a beautification and cleanliness drive," she said.
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Authorities on Monday also served eviction notices to 45 families living in another slum area near the cricket stadium.
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The residents said they were asked to leave because of the upcoming event, but the city's civic body denied it.
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"We have been living here for the last 20 years and now we are suddenly being told to vacate because some important leader is visiting this city for a day," said Sanjay Patani, a resident. "This is injustice."
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Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along America's border with Mexico to stop people from entering the US, is visiting India on Feb. 24-25.
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His visit is aimed at smoothing ties strained by trade disputes and could also allow him to woo tens of thousands of Indian-American voters ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
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Trade tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Trump administration levied tariffs on steel and aluminium from India.
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