With the ‘Howdy Modi’ event just a day away, the Houston Police Department held a press conference to announce the safety and traffic plans on Saturday morning. They informed the people about designated assembly and parking points during the event. The official media-in-charge and spokesperson for 'Howdy Modi' event while speaking to Republic TV, on Friday, said that, “In Houston, we say everything is big, so we have booked NRG Stadium because it has the largest parking facility”. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump will be attending the event with at least 50,000 people sitting in the stadium on September 22.  

The Houston Police Department’s Statement 

Addressing a conference an officer from the Houston Police Department said, “The people who wish to come early won’t be able to access the parking lot at the NRG Stadium before 6 am in the morning. Only ticketed individuals will be allowed to enter the parking lot. The traffic in the area surrounding NRG will be heavily impacted because tens of thousands of people will be attending the event. We seek motorists who plan to be or pass by from the area to look for alternative routes. There will be a total closure of ‘Curby Drive’ in front of NRG on the account of resulting congestion. This closure will begin on Saturday evening at 8 pm and last until the conclusion of the event on Sunday afternoon. We are asking the general public in the area to come with patience.” 

The traffic official also displayed roadmaps for the people who will be arriving at the event via a bus. He pointed out their pickup and drop off points. He added, “The people who want to exercise their right of protesting against the event will have a designated assembly area on Curby Drive. The people demonstrating opposition will have to assemble in Curby Drive from West Ridge to 6’10, this is on the south side of the stadium”. 

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Howdy Modi! 

The Houston event will be Modi's third major address to the Indian-American community after he became the prime minister in 2014 and the first after his re-election in May. The previous two were at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016. The 'Howdy, Modi!' event is being organised by the non-profit Texas India Forum, a recently formed representative body of hundreds of Indian American organisations in Texas and other parts of the US. Also, a 90-minute cultural program titled, “Woven: The Indian-American Story”, is going to be performed at the event celebrating the contributions of Indian-Americans to the cultural, intellectual, and social landscape of the United States. The program will start at 10:00 am preceding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address. 

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