Karnataka’s Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar and his ministerial colleagues will travel together to the Cabinet meeting in Mangaluru on September 18 in an open top bus, according to Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister U. T. Khader.

Open top double decker bus for Mangaluru cabinet meeting

An open top double decker bus (Ambaari) of Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation. Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar and his ministerial colleagues will travel from Bhagwan Mahaveer (Pumpwell) Circle to Praja Soudha at Padil to attend the Cabinet meeting in Mangaluru on September 18, 2026.  | Video Credit: The Hindu

The ministers are expected to converge at the Kadri Manjunatha temple in the morning before commencing their journey to the district office complex, Praja Soudha, at Padil. The ministers would board an open top double decker bus of Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) around 10 a.m. They will travel in the bus from Bhagwan Mahaveer (Pumpwell) Circle to Praja Soudha.

Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru on September 17, the Minister said preparations were underway for smooth conduct of the Cabinet meeting at the Praja Soudha. Mr. Khader said Mangaluru residents would have the opportunity to greet the entourage along the Bhagwan Mahaveer (Pumwpell) Circle - Padil four-lane road.

During the first Cabinet meeting chaired by Mr. Shivakumar in Bengaluru, Mr. Khader had suggested holding one such meeting in Mangaluru whenever the government decides to hold one outside Bengaluru. Mr. Shivakumar had agreed to his suggestion, Mr. Khader said explaining the Cabinet meeting in Mangaluru. The Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues would plant saplings in the Praja Soudha complex to mark the occasion

Region-specific issues

Though the cabinet would discuss all issues threadbare at its meetings in Bengaluru, region-specific issues could be highlighted and addressed when such meetings were held outside Bengaluru, Mr. Khader said.

Without divulging details of the agenda, the Minister said legislators from the three coastal districts — Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada — had recently met Mr. Shivakumar and put forth their demands. The meeting would focus on these demands and attempt to address the ones that are feasible, he said.

Rangoli art at Praja Soudha Mangaluru

Veena Aithal and her team working on a rangoli (colourful pattern) depicting Kambala, a traditional buffalo race, at Praja Soudha in Mangaluru as part of preparations for the Cabinet meeting scheduled on September 18, 2026.  | Video Credit: The Hindu

Responding to questions on some organisations proposing to hold protests during the cabinet meeting, Mr. Khader said the issues of mobile jammers at the district prison and the government’s arrangement with private medical colleges to provide treatment free of cost at government hospitals, were not new one.

The mobile jammer issue has to be sorted out by the state and central governments and perhaps, it could permanently be sorted out when the district prison gets shifted out of the city. Regarding PPP with private medical colleges, Mr. Khader said objections hold no water as people were being provided free and quality treatment at government hospitals.