AHMEDABAD: At least 45 families living in a slum near the newly-built Motera stadium in Ahmedabad have been served eviction notices by the municipal corporation ahead of the scheduled visit of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24.
While officials have denied any connection with the proposed high-profile visit and issuance of notices, residents of the slum have questioned the timing of the move, which came days after the AMC began building a wall allegedly to cover a slum on a route that the US President is likely to take while visiting the city.“You have encroached upon a plot of land belonging to the AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation). Clear the plot in another seven days with your household goods, otherwise, a departmental action will be taken to clear the land. If you have to make any representation, you can do so on February 19 at 3 pm,” reads the notice.
The slum is located alongside a road connecting Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar, around one-and-a-half kms away from the Motera stadium.A slum-dweller, Shailesh Bilwa, claimed on Tuesday that officials of the AMC have visited them several times in the last seven days.“We have been living here since over a decade. We had never been served any eviction notice in the past. Why has the notice been served to us now?” questioned Dinesh Adravani, a daily-wage labourer who said he had been asked to vacate his shanty by February 18.