Karnataka - Mangalore   

`An example of balanced development'

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, AUG. 15. Dakshina Kannada has become an example of balanced development between rural and urban areas and things look bright for the district, the Deputy Commissioner, Arvind Shrivastva, has said.

Delivering the Independence Day message here today, Mr. Shrivastava said that while great strides had been made in irrigation, drinking water supply, housing, roads, and integrated agriculture development in rural areas, improving infrastructure with assistance from the Asian Development Bank had been given prominence in urban areas.

Water supply

He said the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat had taken up drinking water supply projects by reviving lakes, tanks, ponds, and other water bodies at a cost of Rs. 1.21 crore. Under the Rajiv Gandhi drinking water supply programme, projects to the tune of Rs. 26.02 crores had been completed.

Under the rural infrastructure development programme, Rs. 61 lakhs had been spent for construction of roads and bridges while Rs. 4.13 crores had been spent on laying 11 roads under the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana, he said.

Chulas

As many as 25 villages had been given smokeless chulas, he said and added that the community toilet project and the Integrated Farm Development Programme were being implemented there.

Development works under the ADB-funded schemes were being implemented in areas coming under the Mangalore City Corporation, the town municipal council in Puttur, and the Ullal Town Panchayat. They included drainage works, drinking water schemes, road development programmes, solid waste management schemes, and improvement of slums, the Deputy Commissioner said.

Akshara Dasoha

Under the Akshara Dasoha programme, 97,803 children in 913 government schools were being given midday meals, Mr. Shrivastava said. Many organisations and banks in the district had come forward to fund the programme.

The Deputy Commissioner observed that there were problems in extending the scheme to other schools as well. He appealed to non-governmental organisations to come forward to bear the expenses incurred on the programme.

Eco-tourism

Various programmes such as developing beaches in Mangalore and setting up an eco-tourism centre at Pilikula Nisarga Dhama in Moodushedde village had been taken up to make Dakshina Kannada a tourist destination, he said.

Reforms

In an effort to reform administration, the district office had decided to dispose of files pertaining to public grievances to bring people closer to the district administration, Mr. Shrivastava said.

Apart from the main function at Nehru Maidan, Independence Day was also celebrated in housing colonies, autorickshaw and taxi stands, and clubs and hotels.

At Nehru Maidan, 17 contingents of the police and the paramilitary forces presented a colourful parade.

It was also for the first time in the past one decade that the Deputy Commissioner officiated the celebrations.

Many schools also celebrated Independence Day in Mangalore city.

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