Yummy: A delegation from the US was served Italian delicacies like Penne Napolitana, Chicken Stroganoff and Parsley rice

Instead of giving foreign officials a taste of Indian cuisine, the MMRDA served Italian delicacies to a delegation from the US, yesterday. The MMRDA paid attention to the minutest details to please officials from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the United States Department of Transport.

The Italian dishes that were served to the delegation included penne napolitana, chicken stroganoff and parsley rice. The only Indian vegetable on the menu was kadai sabzi. An official from MMRDA said, "We chose Italian dishes since the foreign delegation is fond of such food."

The delegation included government officials, transport consultants and businessmen from the US who signed a Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) with MMRDA and the government of Maharashtra. It will enable MMRDA share technical know-how and appoint specialists for projects like the metro rail.

Rajesh Tope, Minister of State for Urban Development, GoM, said, "The MoC will help develop public transportation, mobility of disabled people and transport integration in areas of urban planning." James Simpson, FTA administrator, who headed the delegation, said, "I saw nearly 5,000 people come out of CST and Churchgate stations. We will take inputs from the Maharashtra government on how they manage to handle such crowds, as New York and Washington, DC, too will be burdened by huge population by 2030."

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