Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be in the Taj city on Tuesday to oversee arrangements made ahead of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s visit to the Taj Mahal on February 24.
Trump will be the second US president to visit the Taj Mahal after Bill Clinton.
Officials said here on Monday that the chief minister would reach Agra at 16:30 hours from Lucknow on Tuesday and hold a review meeting with the district officials at the Circuit House.
After the meeting, the chief minister is expected go to some places where the US president could visit during his brief stay.
Yogi Adityanath is also likely to inspect the route from Kheria airbase to the Taj Mahal.
Before the proposed inspection of the chief minister, all encroachments, unauthorised hoardings will be removed. Road repairing work has also been initiated. The entire VVIP route will be systematically maintained and decorated to welcome the guests, Agra District Magistrate Prabhu Narain Singh said.
All residential and government buildings along the route will be checked. Verification of people living in houses and working in shops and showrooms has been initiated. Hotel owners have been asked to share details of all the guests on a daily basis from February 18 onwards, Singh said.
Meanwhile, officials said that over 5,000 security personnel would be deployed for the US president’s visit. Another 200 officers of the intelligence unit would be in the Taj city. The advance security team of the US would reach Agra by Tuesday morning.
Trump is likely to stay in Agra for two hours and during this time the people near the Taj Mahal would be asked to stay indoor.
All hotels, dharmashalas and guest houses are being searched and the tourists are being verified.
Police officials said tight security would be in place from February 23 night and would continue till the US president left Agra the following day.
The Agra Municipal Corporation has launched cleanliness drive on the route to the Taj Mahal. Senior officials of police and administration are getting all encroachments removed in the vicinity of the 17th century monument.
The police have identified 400 possible troublemakers who had staged protest against the US on different occasions. Recently, some of them had protested against US attack on Iraq and killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Local intelligence unit is keeping a close watch on the activities of these people and some of them may be put under preventive detention, ahead of the UP president’s visit.
Drone cameras will also be used to monitor public activities in localities situated along the route.
