Mamata tries her hand at making momos, pens song, interacts with locals

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 1 April 2022 | Darjeeling: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrapped up her Darjeeling visit on a jovial note by wrapping momos, interacting with locals and even helping pen a theme song for a café. 

The Chief Minister had arrived in the Darjeeling district on Sunday. She departed for Kolkata on Thursday. In Darjeeling, taking time out of her schedule, the Chief Minister made it a point to walk around the town, interact with locals and find out what problems they faced in the Hills. 

Thursday was no exception. Before departing for Kolkata, the Chief Minster took to the streets again. Walking towards the Zoo from the Richmond government guesthouse where she was staying, Mamata Banerjee came across a group of women preparing momos at a makeshift roadside eatery. She immediately stopped at the stall. 

"Even I can wrap momos," stated Banerjee and tried her hand at the job. She rolled the dough, filled in the stuffing and wrapped it to give shape to a momo. The women told her that they belonged to Anju Self Help Group. 

They complained that owing to the lack of a shop, they were facing great difficulties in running the eatery, especially during monsoon. 

The Chief Minister instructed the District Magistrate, Darjeeling to resolve the issue and also apprise them of different welfare schemes for Self Help Groups. She then proceeded to "The Retreat" hotel on the Mall road where a "Café House" is set to come up on the lines of "Calcutta Coffee House." 

"The location is perfect. It offers a panoramic view of the Kanchenjunga range. Even when the mountains are not visible, the fog rolls right into the premises. 

It's heavenly," stated the elated Chief Minister. Along with tourism minister Indranil Sen, the Chief Minister played around with words, coining the lyrics for a theme song for the Café House. 

Mamata Banerjee asked Sen to replace "Coffee house" with "Café House" for his song and added that Café House would be pure nostalgia for tourists coming from Kolkata but with a local touch. 

On a more serious note, she discussed the opening of new tourism spots for Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Mirik in a bid to attract more tourists, with the tourism minister and the Darjeeling District Magistrate. 

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/mamata-tries-her-hand-at-making-momos-pens-song-interacts-with-locals-472983