12 Kolkata: CM Mamata Banerjee reached London on Sunday morning and held preparatory meetings with state chief secretary Manoj Pant, industry secretary Vandana Yadav and her principal secretary Gautam Sanyal ahead of her packed UK schedule.
The CM, who is staying at a hotel close to Buckingham Palace, is scheduled to attend an event at the Indian high commission in London on Monday. On Tuesday, the CM will be at an investment meeting with British business leaders. On Wednesday, she is scheduled to attend a trade meeting at the govt level.
On Thursday, she will deliver a lecture on ‘Empowerment and Success of Women in Bengal' at Kellogg College, Oxford University.
Shortly after arriving in London on Sunday, Banerjee began reviewing multiple administrative files. Her meetings on Sunday were part of preparations for back-to-back investment meeting in which she will be addressing industry leaders in the UK, sources said.
Banerjee left Kolkata at 8.20pm on Saturday; her departure was delayed by nearly 12 hours due to Heathrow's closure. She had a stopover in Dubai, from where she boarded the A380 Airbus for London. The CM landed in London at 7am on Sunday (12.30pm IST). It was raining heavily with temperatures touching 9 degrees Celsius. She did not have any scheduled engagements on Sunday.
At Dubai airport, the CM was among the excited audience watching two women from Gujarat dancing. As she entered the business lounge, she noticed two women practising for mehndi celebrations they were going to attend in Europe. They stopped on recognising her. But Banerjee encouraged them to continue, adding that she had enjoyed a Bhangra gig in Kolkata a few days ago. The duo did not turn down her request and resumed dancing. Banerjee was also flooded with requests for selfies in the Dubai lounge, and refused none.