Udupi district again in red zone

Udupi district, which was eliminated from the tag of Red Zone due to threat of Aids, is again declared as one among the districts in the country under the red zone.

At a vigilance committee meet headed by Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje, District Health Officer Dr Rohini said the development is posing threat with increasing number of HIV cases in the district, which are around 5,000 at present. Every month, around 40 cases are added to the number.

The cases are reported in both the government and private hospitals. The DHO said the government incentive to support the awareness programme is inadequate.

Awareness programmes introduced during the previous years have helped immensely to curb HIV infections. However, the programmes were stopped all of sudden and the District AIDS Control officer has been shifted to another department.

There is no budget for HIV and the salary to the staff is less, she said. The MP instructed that measures should be taken to introduce awareness at gram panchayat-level. The taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat officers should also be working on creating awareness, she stressed.

The Port and Fisheries assistant executive engineer said that the financial bid for the 6.5 crore-worth drudging works at Kodikanyana is called and the formalities will be over in a week.

The construction works for the harbour at Gangolli will be taken up after the rain and would be completed in two years. The desilting work at the boat basin, Malpe, is taken up at Rs 225 lakh. The jetty at Hejamadi-Kodi built at Rs 122.59 crore would be completed at the end of month, he added.

The District Women and Children deputy director said the construction works of  structure  for one stop center ‘Sakhi’  has begun at the cost of Rs 35 lakh, which is released as first installment. The new structures for the Anganavadis will be taken up and around 20 Anganavadis would be benefitted, she added.

Meanwhile the parliamentarian was unhappy over the foundation laying ceremony held in her absence. She said the state government politicises everything and tries to claim the right. The zilla panchayat Chief Executive Officer Priyanka Mary  Francis said that direct transfer benefits for financial transactions for social security schemes would be completed by September.

She directed the officer to complete the formalities of Aadhaar seeding, where the Aadhaar number of the beneficiary would be linked to the bank account, she said. The tender is called for the detailed project report the construction of Malpe-Theeerthalli 169A national highway.

Wherever 10% of land acquisition is possible, the work at these stretches would be taken up immediately. The widening of the railway bridge at Indrali would be taken up and the proposal for the detailed design is submitted.

The CEO added that there is a shortage of SC/ST beneficiaries under Ambedkar and Basava Vasati Yojane. Nearly 600 houses are pending to be given. The problem aroused due to complications in the land records where the name of the beneficiary will be jointly registered with others.

Hence, it is not possible to offer the benefits of the housing schemes to most of the SC/ST beneficiaries. The new post offices would come up at 16 gram panchayats in the district, she said.