Shedding ‘ghost city’ tag: Taj City all set for a ‘lively welcome’ to US vice-president
The district administration has decided to line up 1200 students and folk artistes along the stretch between the airport and Shilpgram to welcome the VVIP amid tight security
AGRA The UP government has undertaken a massive exercise to present a ‘lively image’ of Agra during US vice-president JD Vance’s visit here on Wednesday, to do away with the ‘ghost city’ tag given to the Taj city by former US President Bill Clinton in 2000.
During Clinton’s visit, the streets and the main Mall road were sealed, sanitised and he couldn’t find locals (apart from those engaged in arrangements and security personnel) on the streets on his way to the Taj Mahal. But this time, the district administration has decided to line up 1200 students and folk artistes along the stretch between the airport and Shilpgram to welcome the VVIP amid tight security.
Vance is set to visit the Taj Mahal on Wednesday, for which security has been tightened across the city, said police officials. The monument, which has welcomed many global leaders over the years, will now see vice-president Vance and his wife walking through the mausoleum and admiring its timeless beauty.
In 2020, US President Donald Trump visited the Taj Mahal along with First Lady Melania Trump. Trump had described the monument by saying, “Taj Mahal inspires awe, a timeless testament to the rich and diverse beauty of Indian culture! Thank you, India.”
“Security is a prime concern for such a high profile visit at the Taj Mahal. But it would not be a lifeless track through which the guests will pass through. At 10 points, along the stretch between the airport and Shilpgram, stages are laid where artistes and school children will present cultural programmes. The guests will not stop at any of these points, but the programmes will begin once they arrive in the city,” said DCP (Agra City) Sonam Kumar.
Verification of all the artistes and school children who participate in the programme will be done. The city is being decorated ahead of the US vice-president’s visit.
“Force from nearby districts has arrived for the visit of US vice-president JD Vance on Wednesday. We are working in close coordination with the security agencies involved, including those from US. The internal security at Taj Mahal will be with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and US security agencies,” he informed.
“School children will be present at the airport, holding flags of both the nations. All those who would be present on route are to undergo security check and their credentials are being verified,” he added.
With restrictions on petrol/diesel-run vehicles around the Taj Mahal, the guests will take golf carts from Shilpgram to reach Taj Mahal in the earlier half of the day. The ASI has already issued orders that general public will be allowed to purchase entry tickets for the Taj only after the VVIP visit is over.
When US President Donald Trump visited Agra on February 24, 2020, along with First Lady Melania, thousands of students stood along side the 14 km route taken by the guests to reach the Taj Mahal and over 3,000 folk artistes from Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan performed on road-side stages.
However, the scenario was quite different during the first-ever visit by a US president to Agra - quite in contrast to the multiple-tier security arrangements at present. On December 13, 1959, US President Dwight D Eisenhower came to Laramada village of Agra in an open vehicle with the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
“Eisenhower and Pandit Nehru moved freely in the village, visited a school and reached the ‘panchayat ghar’. They presented a ‘radio’ to be used at ‘panchayat ghar’ besides equipment for modern farming. Prime Minister Nehru also handed over a ‘dholak and majira’ for cultural events at the panchayat ghar,” recalled a villager in Laramada.
After this VVIP visit, Laramada village was included in the joint Indo-US scheme for rural electrification, following which the village finally got electricity in 1964.
