<p>U.S. President Donald Trump will be shielded from the sight of slums by a newly built wall when he visits the city of Ahmedabad during a visit to India this month.</p>.<p>A senior government said the wall was being built for security reasons, not to conceal the slum district.</p>.<p>But the contractor building it told Reuters the government "did not want the slum to be seen" when Trump passes by on the ride in from Ahmedabad's airport.</p>.<p>"I've been ordered to build a wall as soon as possible, over 150 masons are working round-the-clock to finish the project," the contractor said, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p>.<p>The government official conceded that the wall was part of a "beautification and cleanliness" drive.</p>.<p>Whatever the reason, the 400-meter-long and seven-feet-high wall will prevent the U.S. leader from getting a glimpse of a slum district that houses an estimated 800 families.</p>.<p>Trump, who has made his pledge to build a wall along the United States' border with Mexico a feature of his presidency, will visit India on Feb. 24-25 to reaffirm strategic ties that have been buffeted by trade disputes.</p>.<p>He is expected to attend an event dubbed "Kem Chho Trump" ("How are you, Trump") at a stadium in Ahmedabad along the lines of the "Howdy Modi" extravaganza he hosted for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston last September.</p>.<p>Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump quoted Modi as saying "millions and millions of people" would attend the rally.</p>.<p>The event provides Trump, who was impeached in December, with the opportunity to woo the support of hundreds of thousands of Indian-American voters ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.</p>.<p>But some slum dwellers whose homes will be cordoned off by the wall in Ahmedabad - the largest city in Modi's home state of Gujarat - said the government was wasting tax-payer money to hide the poor.</p>.<p>"Poverty and slums are the reality of our life, but Modi's government wants to hide the poor," said Parvatbhai Mafabhai, a day worker who has lived there with his family for more than three decades.</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump will be shielded from the sight of slums by a newly built wall when he visits the city of Ahmedabad during a visit to India this month.</p>.<p>A senior government said the wall was being built for security reasons, not to conceal the slum district.</p>.<p>But the contractor building it told Reuters the government "did not want the slum to be seen" when Trump passes by on the ride in from Ahmedabad's airport.</p>.<p>"I've been ordered to build a wall as soon as possible, over 150 masons are working round-the-clock to finish the project," the contractor said, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p>.<p>The government official conceded that the wall was part of a "beautification and cleanliness" drive.</p>.<p>Whatever the reason, the 400-meter-long and seven-feet-high wall will prevent the U.S. leader from getting a glimpse of a slum district that houses an estimated 800 families.</p>.<p>Trump, who has made his pledge to build a wall along the United States' border with Mexico a feature of his presidency, will visit India on Feb. 24-25 to reaffirm strategic ties that have been buffeted by trade disputes.</p>.<p>He is expected to attend an event dubbed "Kem Chho Trump" ("How are you, Trump") at a stadium in Ahmedabad along the lines of the "Howdy Modi" extravaganza he hosted for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston last September.</p>.<p>Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump quoted Modi as saying "millions and millions of people" would attend the rally.</p>.<p>The event provides Trump, who was impeached in December, with the opportunity to woo the support of hundreds of thousands of Indian-American voters ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.</p>.<p>But some slum dwellers whose homes will be cordoned off by the wall in Ahmedabad - the largest city in Modi's home state of Gujarat - said the government was wasting tax-payer money to hide the poor.</p>.<p>"Poverty and slums are the reality of our life, but Modi's government wants to hide the poor," said Parvatbhai Mafabhai, a day worker who has lived there with his family for more than three decades.</p>