Gujarat slum dwellers face eviction notices ahead of Donald Trump’s visit

AHEMDABAD: Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has served notices to families living in a slum area close to the newly-built Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera area.

Slum-dwellers and activists have questioned the timing of the decision as it is just ahead of the visit of US president.

"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 19 February at 3 pm," according to the notice. The slum is also home to construction workers from neighbouring districts.

“All 45 families who have been served notices today by the AMC are registered as construction workers with us. In most of the cases, both the husband and the wife are registered as workers. There are 66 families in this settlement who are registered with us. Others are yet to be served notices. What surprises us is the speed at which the AMC is working to evict them,” Mina Jadhav from a trade union working for unorganised workers in Gujarat to The Indian Express.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has also started building a 600 metre wall to obscure the Saraniyavas or Dev Saran slum which might fall on the route of the US President.

With US President Donald Trump scheduled to come to India for a two-day official visit on February 24, a lot of experts are trying to anticipate what the visit will mean for India.

Trump had said that he was interested in doing a big trade deal with India but he wasn’t sure if the deal could be done before the elections.

Last year, during a Houston event Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Donald Trump had shared the stage.

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