Pimpri: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale’s suggested to ban Chinese food and hotels in the country amid tensions between India and China after 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. The demand for banning Chinese products is raging all over the country.

On the wake of banning Chinese food, many restaurants in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad are now turning their Chinese menu into the traditional one. Famous Chinese dishes including Hakka noodles, Manchurian, chilly-chicken, paneer chilly, Manchow soup, will now disappear from the menu books of Maharashtrian restaurants but the ‘desi’ food made by using home-made spices will be promoted.

Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have many Chinese restaurants and handcarts.

Chinese dishes which are pocket-friendly for many will now fade away.  The Chinese food handcarts in Pimpri-Chinchwad area are on the verge of disappearing. All the workers who worked at these carts or restaurants have been badly hit. Around more than five thousand Chinese handcarts and hotels are placed in the area.

A hotel owner from Wakad, Dipak Pawar said, “Chinese food will be disappearing. Also, the menu card is going to change. No doubt, Maharashtrian food is top of town. This is the new opportunity for businessmen to do something new. We, hotel businessmen, are going to ban Chinese food for sure.”

WHAT WILL BE OFFERED OVER CHINESE FOOD?

Special Maharashtrian village-style dishes of meat, kheema, seafood, Malvani fish fry will be offered. In the vegetarian category, Puranpoli, Masvadi, Patvadi and other items will be offered. Instead of Gobi Manchurian, pakodas made from cauliflower will be on the menu card.

Foodies in Pune and around must be missing their lip-smacking food as restaurants are closed from the last three months. Though some of the restaurants are providing home delivery and parcel services, the restaurants meanwhile are facing huge financial problems.