British Prime Minister Theresa May is all set to visit Bengaluru on Tuesday before flying back to London in the evening to conclude her three-day official visit.
"May has a busy schedule during her day-long visit on Tuesday as she will participate in as many as five events soon after arriving from New Delhi," a protocol officer was quoted as saying by IANS.
The British PM will hold a meeting on the 13th floor of the Barton Centre in Bengaluru's MG Road on Tuesday among other commitments. According to Bangalore Mirror, the meeting is being held especially for the international media. Indian media has not been invited.
The authorities have removed a part of the concrete median in front of Barton Centre so that May's motorcade can cut across the road and enter the building's lobby without taking a U-turn at the Cauvery Junction.
"In view of the British PM's visit to Barton Centre for a programme, we request you to close the offices on ground, first, second and 13 floors," stated a notice sent to the owner of the building by local police. Police decided on Barton Centre while they were looking for a multi-storeyed building that could host May.
Police visited the building on Monday for a recce and asked the owner to keep the ground, first and second floors as well as the restaurants on 12th and 13th floors closed in view of May's visit on Tuesday. Operators have been instructed to keep the generators on in the elevator.
"We were told about the British PM's meeting with the international media, and the mission wanted to hold the programme in a high-rise building that had a view of the Soudha. We tried to dissuade the authorities, but they wouldn't listen. Barton Centre was found ideal and we informed the owner. A portion of the building will be closed tomorrow morning till afternoon, including the restaurant," a police officer told Bangalore Mirror.
May is also scheduled to meet chief executives of India Inc. and a delegation of Indo-British Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), NDTV reported.
"The very fact that the British PM has chosen to visit the city on her quest to expand international ties, as the country prepares to exit the European Union (EU), speaks volumes about Brand Bengaluru," Minister for Information Technology Priyank Kharge told the Times of India.
"This is the first time that May is venturing beyond the geographic boundaries of EU and the first in a series of foreign tours that are being undertaken to consolidate economic ties in the wake of Brexit," he added.
