Manipuris starved of traditional dishes in Delhi Bhavans
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, September 20 2011: Owing to the allotment of the catering services of the Delhi Manipur Bhawan (Manipur Tikendrajit House) and Manipur Bhawan in Chanakyapuri SP Margh, Delhi to catering frims based in Delhi, Manipuris staying in these state Houses are deprived of the traditional dishes of the Manipuris, mainly Eromba and Chagempomba.

Manipuris who have recently been to Delhi and stayed at Manipur Bhawans told Hueiyen Lanpao that the dishes served at the Bhawans both in Manipur Tikendrajit House, Chanakyapuri, Tikendrajit Margh and Manipur Bhawan Chanakyapuri, SP Margh were not upto the mark.

The Eromba, a traditional Manipuri dish favoured by all Manipuris has completely lost its taste.

The popular Chagempomba and Kangshoi are also not served at all in the Bhawan.

There are Bhawans for all the different states of India in Delhi.

These Bhawans regularly serve the local occupants their own traditional dishes.

One finds South Indian dishes in South Indian States Bhawans and North East dishes in all the North East Bhawans except Manipur, they complain.

Manipuris further complained that the traditional Manipuri Singju, Eromba and Paaknam are available in different parts of Delhi but are nowhere to be seen in the Manipur Bhawans.

Meanwhile, officials of the General Administrative Department (GAD), told Hueiyen Lanpao that all the Bhawans of different states of the country are under their supervision.

The catering services provided in these Bhawans also come under its jurisdiction.

The catering services of Manipur Bhawan were previously allotted to a firm based in Manipur for 2008-09 selected through a tender.

A firm is selected for a period of one year.

After that the firm has seek extension of its term for another year, he said.

He further said that after the expiry of the one year term for the Manipur based firm in 2008-09, the catering service was taken over by one Jamsi Restaurant, a firm based in Delhi.

The firm has further extended its tenure for another year and is still now continuing its serving.

It has further extended its tenure till August 2012 .

Those opening canteens in the Manipur Bhawan pay a monthly rent of Rs 2,500/- to the JAD, GoM.

There have also been instances where the monthly rents were not given to the concern authority.

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