Take it easy, even when you are dealing with your most serious d’affaires!
This is going to be the mantra of the Government for two days—February 7 and 8—when it would sit to hold Cabinet meeting away from Ranchi to a distant gatherings of hills at Netarhat and hold its breath at the picturesque site, teeming with relaxing music, enchanting dance performances and of course, sumptuous meal.
Tourism Department with the assistance of Latehar district administration has rolled out red carper for Chief Minister Raghubar Das and 10 of his Cabinet colleagues. The whole list of officials to attend the Cabinet meeting is being readied to be sent to the district administration.
Special attraction after the rigorous Cabinet meeting is going to be Nagpuri dance by a cultural group working with the Tourism Department along with light music and Ghazal performances from Bhopal- based renowned classical singer Kuldeep Sagar.
“There would be relaxing music show for the VVIPs going there so they can enjoy every moment. The cultural events would be conducted in the evening at 7 after the Cabinet meeting scheduled to begin at 3 PM is over. Kuldeep Sagar along with Nagpuri dancers have been contacted to perform,” said Tourism Secretary Rahul Sharma.
The Department has gone on preparing a list of the visitors for the two day stay starting February 7. It is learnt that most of the Ministers have expressed their keenness to stay inside the unique Swiss tents housing all the comfort inside the canopy.
“As of now over 50 persons are expected to go to Netarhat. We have made all the arrangements for their comfortable stay. As many as 20 Swiss tents are there where the CM and Ministers along with some top officials would stay. All the accommodations available there in the form of Tourism Department’s guest house, Forest Department guest house and Hotel Prabhat Vihar and others have been booked for this purpose,” said JTDC Managing Director Rajiv Ranjan adding that many of them would come back to Ranchi after the meeting on day one.
Top brass of officials including Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma, Additional Chief Secretary Amit Khare and Sudheer Tripathi, Secretaries of Forest, Home, Tourism, Land Revenue, Water Resources, Rural Development, Energy and Road Construction Departments have been told to remain present with their respective agendas.
Besides the Ministers and officials, as many as 25 MLAs, all from the ruling BJP-AJSU combine, are also lurching to attend the outing. “We are expecting that all our MLAs would go there and enjoy the trip. Opposition members have not been invited,” said BJP chief whip Radha Krishna Kishore.
The Department, that would be bearing the expenses coming on the stay, food and site seeing, sees this as an opportunity to promote tourism in the State, particularly in the region often marred with naxal activities.
“Swiss tent arrangement there was coming to an end after the ongoing Sharad Mahotsava. We thought taking the entire Government along with the Chief Minister would be a big boost for future tourism activities over there,” said Tourism Minister Amar Kumar Bauri while sidestepping a query about the expenses. “Tents are already there as are the rooms. We are just spending for food, cultural event etc. It’s not a big deal.”
Thus, forget about heat of politics and hullabaloo allover and plunge into still chilly— the Queen of Chhotanagpur.