Harish Rawat's Cabinet meeting at Kedarnath involved less official work
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat and his team of ministers held a three-hour meeting during which time only minor decisions were taken.
It was meant to be a Cabinet meeting, but turned out to be more like a pleasure trip for the ministers of Uttarakhand. No major decision was taken at the much-touted meeting held by Chief Minister Harish Rawat and his team of ministers at Kedarnath - around 12,000 feet above the sea level - on Monday.
The ministers travelled to the shrine in helicopters. The state government invested a huge sum of money for the air-tour. More than official work, the meet provided the ministers a chance to offer prayers at the Hindu shrine.
The meeting lasted around three hours during which some minor decisions - asking for suggestions from the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee on the construction plan near the shrine, rechannelising the Mandakani and Saraswati rivers and taking expert advice for construction of safety walls behind the temple, using the helipad ground for teaching yoga classes - were taken.
After the meeting, CM Rawat said: "The reconstruction work in Kedarnath will continue till January 15. Electricity and phone lines will be made underground. Adequate open space will be left in front and sides of the temple. No construction will be allowed behind the main temple."
The Cabinet session failed to address many grave issues related to the Kedarnath disaster.
Slamming the meet, senior BJP leader Ajay Bhatt said people will soon teach them a lesson.