DIAMOND NECKLACE, COTTON SARI FOR IVANKA

A diamond necklace, a cotton sari and a silver replica of the historic Charminar are among the gifts lined up to be presented to Ivanka Trump, adviser and daughter of US President Donald Trump, when she visits Hyderabad to attend the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) on 28-29 November. These gifts have been selected by the local host, the Industries Department of the Telangana government, while a few other departments are still waiting with their list of gifts to be cleared by the higher-ups in government. A senior official of the Tourism Department, which is coordinating with the GES delegations, told The Sunday Guardian that many people are eager to present gifts to Ivanka on her maiden visit to India.

The cotton sari to be presented to her has been selected from Pochampally, a handloom weavers’ cluster 40 km from Hyderabad. The diamond necklace reflects traditional Nizami style. Not only Ivanka, all other VVIPs and delegates are to be gifted cotton saris from Pochampally with an eye on promoting these at the global level, the official said.

An Ivanka fever is sweeping through Hyderabad, with her visit resulting in a Rs 450 crore city beautification drive. All the major and internal roads have been re- carpeted and spruced up. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), with an outlay of Rs 200 crore had initially planned to take up road-repair and city beautification only in areas where Ivanka would travel. However, corporators from other areas, too, insisted that their