Nitish holds Cabinet meet on yacht

Meeting aimed at boosting tourism in the state

The hour-long meeting on the 48-seater air-conditioned steamer began at 2 pm. All throughout the Cabinet meeting, the vessel carrying the VVIPs including ministers and bureaucrats sailed across the Ganga. After the meet, it was time to ‘chew the fat’ with the guests which included partymen and the officers. The menu had aromatic chura (flattened basmati rice), rich and creamy yoghurt, Gaya’s famous tilkut, fried green chana and wide range of Bihari cuisine.

The meeting on the vessel (also called AC floating restaurant – MV Ganga Vihar) was planned with an aim to boost tourism in the State. Developed by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation, the MV Ganga Vihar was thrown open to public last July.

However, this is not the first time that Nitish had held the Cabinet meet outside his office. In February last, the Cabinet meeting was organised at a nondescript village — Barbighi — in Begusarai district, around 150 kilometres from Patna.

The meet assumed significance as it was first of its kind in this part of the land. All the ministers and bureaucrats were ferried in luxury buses from the state capital to the venue.

More recently, Nitish held a Cabinet meet atop a hill (Ratnagiri hills), the renowned Buddhist site, on December 29. The meeting near the Stupa of Lord Buddha had drawn nationwide attention as well as flak from the opposition parties.