India is embarking on a massive cleanup ahead of President Trump’s visit next week, pumping millions of gallons of fresh water into a polluted river, building walls to hide an unsightly slum, and demolishing a small shantytown.
Trump is due to arrive on Monday for his first visit to India amid hope of a trade deal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The visit will include a “Namaste Trump” rally designed to replicate the “Howdy Modi” event in Houston last year.
Such a high-profile visitor has regional officials scrambling to ensure that the country’s best face is on display. Trump is reportedly a germaphobe and has referred to several developing nations as “shithole countries.”
In Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, that means trying to reduce the smell from the Yamuna River.
Dharmendra Singh Phogat of the provincial irrigation department told the Times of India that 500 cubic feet per second of clean water was being released into the river.
“Keeping in mind U.S. President Trump’s visit to Agra, 500 cusecs of water has been released from the Ganganahar to improve the environmental condition of the Yamuna. This water will reach the Yamuna in Mathura by Feb. 20 and Agra by Feb. 21 afternoon,” he said.
Much of the work is being done in Ahmedabad, where Trump will inaugurate the world’s largest cricket stadium. Local media report that three paan stores, selling a betel leaf and nut combination that is chewed for its stimulant effect, have been closed to prevent consumers spitting out the remains, plastering walls and sidewalks with unsightly stains.
Authorities have also been criticized for building a 1,300-foot wall to block out the view of a slum, although officials insist it is being constructed for security reasons.
More than 40 families claimed they had been served eviction notices ahead of the visit, and a number of huts have been demolished.
The city is in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. He was chief minister there for 13 years before his Hindu nationalist party won power in 2014.
Local officials told Reuters they expected to spend as much as $12 million on preparations for a visit that was expected to last only three hours.
The visit comes after weeks of negotiations to secure a limited trade deal giving the United States access to India’s huge poultry and dairy markets.
New Delhi has been softening the ground in advance. The Indian Cabinet is expected to sign off on a deal to buy 24 naval helicopters from Lockheed Martin and, on Wednesday, announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding on intellectual property rights with the U.S.
But Trump played down the prospects of a broader trade deal any time soon as he boarded Air Force One on Tuesday before departing for Las Vegas.
“We can have a trade deal with India, but I’m really saving the big deal for later on,” he said.
Washington wants to increase the amount of goods it sends to what is currently its ninth-biggest export market, worth about $89 billion in 2018, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
