Indian city bans begging ahead of Ivanka Trump's visit

Ivanka Trump is set to visit India for an entrepreneurship summit later this month and one city is gearing up by banning beggars from the street.

Authorities have planned to take 6,000 beggars off the streets and into rehab centers and shelters in Hyderabad ahead of Trump's visit. The White House adviser is expected to represent the U.S. at the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit. 

President Donald Trump tweeted about his daughter’s trip in August. The U.S. is co-hosting the summit celebrating “Women First, Prosperity for All ” with India between November 28 and 30.

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Officials want the city to be ready for the president’s daughter in case she might do some sightseeing outside the summit. Authorities say they want Trump along with world leaders attending the conference to get the best representation of the city, rather than the Slumdog Millionaire stereotype portrayed in the movie and other media. 

Police have already removed 400 beggars after they banned begging until January 2018. Authorities told India Today that beggars create traffic and they didn’t want to take any risks with Trump on her way.

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“Such acts are causing annoyance and awkwardness by exposing in an indecent manner to divert the attention of the vehicular traffic as well as pedestrians and public, in general, to induce them to give alms,” police said in a notice. “These acts are dangerous to the safety of the vehicular traffic and public in general.”

It’s not the first time the city has cleared beggars off the streets ahead of a U.S. leader’s visit. Hyderabad took the same measure when then-President Bill Clinton visited in 2000.

U.S. cities have also done the same with homeless people. When Democrats landed in Denver in 2008, a nonprofit, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, gave beggars movie tickets so that they would not be disturbed by the Democratic National Convention. 

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Other countries have also followed suit. Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, private security officers in Brazil removed the homeless from tourist areas and brought them to police stations. Rio de Janeiro government officials told Al Jazeera that the program was “fantastic” and “absolutely positive.”

Trump will be speaking to entrepreneurs at the summit along with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

“The Indian government and Prime Minister Modi are great partners, and we thank the city of Hyderabad, whose robust startup ecosystem, top notch talent, and supportive government policies have made it one of the world’s leading startup capitals,” MaryKay Carlson, chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be partnering together on GES 2017!”

Source:AFP