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In Darjeeling, Mamata Banerjee perfects stuffing, serves ‘phuchka’ to kids | Watch
TMC boss and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is currently in Darjeeling. On Tuesday, she attended the swearing-in ceremony of the elected members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), where elections were conducted after a decade.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday donned a new role as she served ‘phuchka’ (panipuri) to children at a stall in Darjeeling. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo was seen mashing potatoes in a bowl and readying the popular street snack before serving them to the children, who stood patiently holding plates.
A more than two-minute-long video with Banerjee busy in her job was shared on social media by news agency ANI.
The chief minister was attending a ‘haat’ (local market) when she found out during her conversation with the women of the stall that a man had come from Bangladesh to visit Darjeeling. This is when she asked the women to serve him ‘phuchka’ and said she will pay for the same. Soon after, she was seen mashing some potatoes and putting the stuffing inside the puffy balls (phuchka).
“Oh Bangladesh theke esche, amader atithi, ok (phuchka) dao, ami poisha diyedichi (He has come all the way from Bangladesh, he is our guest. Give him [phuchka], I will pay)," Banerjee said in the video.
She then calls children who were watching her all this while to serve them the snack.
Earlier in the day, Banerjee attended the swearing-in ceremony of the elected members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), where elections were conducted after a decade. The CM said she does not wish to usurp power in Darjeeling and wants to have friendship with the people of the hills.
“I want friendship. I don’t want any quarrel. I have only one interest. The hills (must) move forward. Trust me, I will not come here to usurp power. I will come with love,” Banerjee said.
In the GTA polls, TMC debuted its victory by winning five of the 10 seats it contested in. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), formed nine months ago, won 27 of the 45 seats.
Banerjee also proposed an array of developmental projects in Darjeeling, including three new satellite towns in the fringes of the region along with Kurseong and Kalimpong. These towns will include an industrial hub, homestays, shopping malls and restaurants, among others.
She also proposed skill training centres for job generation in the hills, schemes to boost homestays and eco-tourism centres around tea gardens, government loans for women drivers and piped drinking water for all by 2024.
