Bhopal: Amid rising heat, MP cabinet to hold meeting in Pachmarhi hill station coming weekend

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): With the mercury levels in Madhya Pradesh going up, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government has decided to hold its cabinet meeting in Pachmarhi, a popular hill station in Narmadapuram district of the state, over the coming weekend.

The cabinet meeting will be held on March 26 and 27, a minister said on Sunday.

As per the agenda of the meeting, talks will revolve around the issue of development of Madhya Pradesh, he said, adding that making the state self-reliant was on the top of the chief minister's mind.

The cabinet meeting is generally held in state capital Bhopal either on Tuesday or Wednesday.

When asked whether Pachmarhi, known as the 'Queen of Satpura', has been chosen as the venue for the cabinet meeting in view of the heat wave in the state, he said, "Nothing of that sort should be read into it as such meetings were held at places other than Bhopal in the past as well." But although Pachmarhi is known for its pleasant climate, Narmadapuram district, where it is located, had recorded the maximum temperature of 43 degrees Celsius on March 17, the highest for the state that day, as per the information shared by the weather bureau.

Giving details of the plan, the minister said, "Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with his 30 cabinet colleagues will leave Bhopal in a bus on Friday evening and head for hill station Pachmarhi to hold the brainstorming session with the ministers on the state's development. The cabinet members return to the state capital on March 27 evening." In Pachmarhi, Chouhan and other members of his cabinet will stay in an air conditioned hotel operated by the state tourism department, he said.

"During the meeting, talks will be held on how to make the state self-reliant. The chief minister might even hold one-on-one interaction with the ministers," he added.

After being pointed out that Pachmarhi may not turn out to be pleasant considering the temperature levels recorded in the last couple of days, he said he was aware of the hot weather conditions prevailing in Narmadapuram.

Pachmarhi, situated at a height of 1067 m in a valley of the Satpura range, is also famous for Satpura Tiger Reserve and Satpura National Park. It is home to many waterfalls, including Apsara Vihar and Bee Falls.

On Friday, India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials had said that a heat wave is currently underway in parts of Madhya Pradesh.