Nandi Hills gearing up to host Karnataka Cabinet meeting on June 19 

Nandi Hills prepares to host Karnataka Cabinet meeting with civic work, beautification, and major announcements for Chickballapur district.

From its foot to the top, Nandi Hills, one of Bengalureans’ favourite getaway destinations, is abuzz with civic work, pruning of trees, beautification of surroundings, and much more, as it gets ready to host the Karnataka Cabinet meeting on June 19.

On Friday, representatives of several departments were busy working on the hill when The Hindu visited the spot. A team belonging to the Public Works Department was carrying out the shouldering work on the road leading to the hill. Horticulture Department workers had brought natural lawns to lay in front of a restaurant. They were also arranging ornamental plants brought from the nursery at Lalbagh.

“After the Cabinet meeting that was conducted on the Male Mahadeshwara Hills, it is now the turn of Nandi Hills to host the State Cabinet. We have also requested the Forest Department to control the large number of monkeys around here without disturbing them,” said an official of the Horticulture Department.

In 1986, the second SAARC summit, which was attended by the then Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi, was held at Nehru Nilaya on Nandi Hills. Controlling monkeys back then was also a Herculean task.

The Cabinet meeting on June 19 will be conducted in the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation’s (KSTDC) Mayura Pine Top restaurant. The restaurant is getting a complete makeover as everything from the washrooms to the air conditioning systems were being fixed on Friday.

“We are upgrading our basic infrastructure. This will be a milestone for the KSTDC as we will be hosting the State Cabinet meeting on our property. We are even increasing the bandwidth of our Wi-Fi to ensure uninterrupted live streaming for media and for any other official work,” said Manoj Kumar, manager of Mayura Pine Top.

The hall that is being prepared for the meeting will be occupied by Ministers, while separate locations will be provided for officers on special duty, personal assistants, and others. The hall on the ground floor of the restaurant offers an uninterrupted view of the Chickballapur town.