From jets to limos, Gandhinagar finds a new place on the world map

Used to the quiet of the city, residents of Gandhinagar woke up on Sunday to find a fleet of black limos and other luxury cars zipping across the roads, ferrying top ministers, central bank governors and officials to the G20 finance track meetings.  More than 200 international delegates including US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Finance Minister of Indonesia Mulyani Indrawati, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for Economy in the European Commission Paolo Gentiloni, OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann and World Bank Group president Ajay Banga landed in the neighbouring Ahmedabad airport on Saturday. Some of them flew in private jets. Many other VVIPs along with their top teams are scheduled to reach before the two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors starts on July 17. 

Between the large Indian delegation, led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and who’s who from across the world, the upscale hotels in Gandhinagar as well as Ahmedabad are fully booked. The GIFT City, the finance hub in the vicinity of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, is also hosting hundreds of delegates, both from India and abroad. Not leaving anything to chance, cops have been stationed at all the hotels where delegates are booked. According to an executive in one of the hotels, rooms are being security checked with sniffer dogs before the arrival of a delegate.   Gandhinagar, which is the official city for the finance track, has borrowed forces from the neighbouring districts of Bhuj and Ahmedabad to make sure the arrangements are on point, according to people in the know. A Whatsapp group for G20 is helping the cops communicate on every logistic issue.  District superintendent of police Tarun Duggal sounded confident of the ‘bandobast’ for pulling off the G20 conference smoothly.

 “We have conducted drills over the last few days. The conference should go seamlessly. We are well prepared with our security arrangements,” Duggal said. 

Gandhinagar has hosted major events such as the defence expo last October, which saw participation of 1,340 exhibitors, businesses, investors, start-ups and delegates from several countries. Vibrant Gujarat has also been one of the large-scale events that Gandhinagar has hosted in the past. But the current G20 summit beats others in global significance.    

The third G20 finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG) meeting will lay the ground for the final leaders’ summit to be held in New Delhi in September. The activity in the current finance track, however, is expected to be less frenetic than the previous FMCBG meetings. 

There were over 30 bilateral meetings held in Washington this April and over 20 in Bengaluru in February earlier. Only around five bilaterals are planned so far for the Gandhinagar meeting.  As for G20 installations, there may not be too many in Gandhinagar, but the delegates will get an essence of the place through sightseeing activities. Some of those who arrived early have been fascinated with the Adalaj Stepwell, a structure near Ahmedabad dating back to the 15th century. Gandhi Ashram was a big highlight for some others. 

“I wish we had more time to explore … I would like to go to see some temple and a mosque while I am here if the schedule permits,” one of the delegates said.  To showcase the culture and cuisine of Gujarat, a grand evening was organised for the delegates on Saturday. Folk dance and a Gujarati cuisine spread were the centre of attraction. While the idea was to offer traditional local cuisine to the guests, other options were kept for those not in a mood to experiment. 

A member of the Chinese delegation praised the organisers for being considerate. Instead of the local cuisine, they got kung pao chicken, noodles and pizzas. Food aside, the Gujarat authorities have also provided special permits to hotels to buy liquor for G20 delegates. Consumption of liquor has been allowed in their hotel rooms. If the delegates, especially those from the US and Europe, were looking for weather respite here, sultry Gandhinagar is unlikely to offer any.