New York: More than 24,000 members of the Indian diaspora have signed up to attend a mega community event that will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here next month.
The ‘Modi & US' Progress Together' event will be held on September 22 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which has a capacity of 15,000.
The Indo-American Community of USA (IACU) said that over 24,000 Indian-Americans have signed up to attend the mega event, a community gathering that will be addressed by Modi.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address the high-level UN General Assembly session here on September 26, according to a provisional list of speakers issued by the UN.
The IACU said in a statement that registrations for the event in Uniondale, Long Island have come through 590 community organisations, all of whom have signed up as ‘Welcome Partners', from across the United States.
While Indian Americans from at least 42 states are expected to attend, the response has been particularly strong from the tri-state area, it said.
"We're committed to ensuring as many people as possible can participate in this historic event," said a key organiser of the event.
"We're going to do our best to expand seating arrangements and coordinate with our Welcome Partners to prioritise final seat allocations to those who will confirm they expect to attend." The IACU said the 'Modi & US' event “promises to be a significant gathering celebrating the interconnected diversity of the Indian-American community.” Attendees and participating organisations will include a wide range of religious communities, including members of the Jewish, Zoroastrian, Jain, Christian, Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu communities. They also represent a significant cross-section of India's diverse languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, and others, IACU said.
In addition to an address by Prime Minister Modi, the event will showcase cultural performances and appearances by prominent Indian-Americans in business, science, entertainment, and the arts.
A not-for-profit organisation, the Indo-American Community of USA (IACU) fosters understanding of and unity within the Indo-American community through cultural events and public programmes.
Earlier this month, sources said that preparations are in full swing for the community event in Long Island, coming 10 years after Modi addressed a massive community gathering at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York in September 2014 just months after he had first taken charge as Prime Minister and visited the city to attend the high-level annual General Assembly session.
