Mamata departs for London, promises to ‘stay in touch with Bengal’
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Saturday evening, departed for London via Dubai with a message to the people of Bengal that she might be physically away in the next 4-5 days but she would keep in touch. She urged the people of Bengal to maintain peace.
Before leaving for London, Banerjee at the airport told the media that her trip will become a little hectic as she was rescheduled following a power outage near Heathrow airport.
“You all know that we were scheduled to take a morning flight on Saturday but it was cancelled. As a result, all the scheduled programmes have been disturbed. Many business meetings are there besides a lecture at Oxford. We will only have four days in the middle. It will take two days in the journey ‘to and fro’. It is because there is no direct flight from Kolkata to London. On the day of return, we will reach Dubai in the morning and then take another flight for Kolkata in the afternoon,” Banerjee said.
Before leaving she also expressed her good wishes for the people of Bengal urging them to stay good.
“You all stay good. I will be away for 4-5 days. I will keep in touch (with ministers and officials) during my stay abroad and take care if anything happens,” she added. Her flight was earlier scheduled on Saturday morning and was later rescheduled in the evening.
Banerjee will land at Dubai airport early Sunday from where she will take another flight to London. She is expected to land at Heathrow airport in the afternoon hours of Sunday (IST). There will be nearly 20 industrialists among the Chief Minister’s entourage.
Banerjee’s lecture at Oxford University is the centrepiece of her UK visit, which also includes several key engagements aimed at bolstering Bengal’s economy.
The Chief Minister’s itinerary features a program at the Indian High Commission in London on March 24, followed by a government-to-government (G2G) event on March 26. On March 25, she is scheduled to meet with industrialists to attract investments to the state.
On March 27, she will participate in another G2G event at Oxford.
Her return is expected between March 28 and 29.
Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday commended Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her upcoming visit to Oxford University. Speaking at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event, Bose expressed immense pride in the Chief Minister’s achievements and her global recognition.
“It is a matter of pride that the CM, who hails from the land of Rabindranath Tagore, has been invited to such a prestigious institution,” Bose remarked, highlighting the significance of Banerjee’s international acclaim. “Whenever something positive happens for Bengal, it makes us all happy,” he added.
