Taj city ready to welcome US President Donald Trump; 3,000 artistes to present cultural programmes

Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Agra in Uttar Pradesh is all set to welcome US President Donald Trump, who will visit the historic city later in the day. The Taj Mahal will, however, be closed for the general public on Monday (February 24) from the afternoon.

An ASI official here told IANS, "The Taj Mahal will remain closed for the general public from 12.30 p.m. onwards as Trump will visit the historical monument in the evening," adding that even the ticket windows for the Taj Mahal will close after 11.30 am.

The US President and his wife would fly to Agra before moving to Delhi for the official reception and bilateral talks. 

Trump will arrive at the Kheria airport in Agra, where he will be received by Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The two leaders will not accompany Trump to Taj Mahal and will wait at the airport to send them back to Delhi.

Ahead of Trump`s visit to the Taj city, the Yogi Adityanath government has mounted a massive image makeover of the city, that people have called "unprecedented".

More than 3,000 artistes from Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan will reportedly present cultural programmes on the way, including Ram Lila, Ras Lila, Panchkula, Nautanki. Over 20,000 school kids will also line up the route with flags to bring cheer and add to the festivities.

Earlier, half-a-dozen American teams have already checked and verified the data collected by the district administration.