Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho meets CM; Mamata inaugurates 20 community Pujas

Kolkata: Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence on Monday following which she virtually inaugurated 20-odd community Pujas in the city.

Banerjee inaugurated the Puja at Ekdalia Evergreen Club and said that Ronaldinho would be paying a visit there while she will be naming a road after her late Cabinet colleague Subrata Mukherjee who used to patronise this Puja for several years.

Ronaldinho reached Banerjee’s home at around 3.42 pm and left after 17 minutes. Banerjee welcomed him with a shawl and ushered him into her residence. State Fire and Emergency Services minister Sujit Bose received the footballer at the airport earlier in the day. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, state Sports and Youth Affairs minister Aroop Biswas, as well as representatives from football clubs Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting, were present.

Banerjee became emotional while inaugurating the Puja of Ekdalia Evergreen in Gariahat. “I pay my homage to Subrata Da (Subrata Mukherjee). I can never forget him. He always flaunted a smiling face and used to ask me to fix a date for inaugurating this Puja. He used to offer me a saree and flowers during Puja every year. There may have been some negligence in his treatment which resulted in his death,” Banerjee said.

Mamata also spoke with Subrata’s wife Chhandabani during the inauguration. “I will come to visit you as soon as I fully recover from my leg injury for which I have been advised to rest by the doctors. I will be naming a road in the memory of Subrata Da,” she added.

After the virtual inauguration, Banerjee invited the members of the Puja committees to the Durga Puja Carnival scheduled to be held at Red Road on October 27 and assured them of her physical presence there.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched the ‘Yatri Sathi’ app to enable commuters to avail of taxi services at economic rates. Banerjee, while virtually launching the mobile application from her residence, said it would be of great help to the people.“I am launching the Yari Sathi app now. It will be of great help to the public,” she said.