State logs on to the Net to woo invitees

A whooping 51 lakh personalised invitations, in the form of electronic mails, have been sent to people across the globe by the government of Gujarat for the Global Investors' Summit and Navratri Festival, to be kicked off during the last week of this month.

The invitations, most of which bear e-signatures of chief minister Narendra Modi, according to senior state government officials, have thus far elicited more than four lakh responses. Of these, the state expects at least 4,000 invitees to attend the event.

"We hope at least 4,000 to 5,000 people to attend the events, if not more," D Rajagopalan, principal secretary (industries & mines), said.

"We are also inviting foreign journalists from leading newspapers and electronic media to attend the summit and convey the message of a prosperous and peaceful Gujarat worldwide," he added.

Though he denied to divulge the names of major companies which have confirmed their participation, sources in the government said that following recent trips made by the chief minister in Europe, the state has started getting enquiries from large corporate groups.

Almost all the major domestic houses are expected to take part in the summit.

"Reliance Industries is the main sponsor of the event and we are expecting other big houses such as Tatas, Essar, Birlas to take active part in the discussions and exhibitions. We are also expecting few Fortune 500 companies to come and see the industrial atmosphere in the state. We do not feel that the shadows of the communal violence are etched on their minds," a senior official said.

The state government has already requested big hotels in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat to block chunk of rooms to accommodate foreign delegates during the summit and festival even as government guest houses are being cleaned and renovated.

An official of Le Meridian hotel in Ahmedabad, said, "We are expecting good business during Navratri Festival because of the state initiative. A chunk of the rooms in our hotel have already been booked for dignitaries and special guests who are expected to arrive in the last week of this month."

Officials of Taj Residency Ummed also sounded excited about gaining good business, while medium-sized hotels in the city also have been visited by government teams and requested blocking of the best rooms for the said period.

The only fear on the minds of government officials is about security during the huge crowd gathering in the events. The communal clash in Godhra on Friday, which forced the administration to impose curfew in the town, will prompt the government to beef up law and order throughout the month for the interest of the state's industry and investment.