JOIN USSocial Welfare Department deputy director Yogish said that Mangaluru has only five Backward Class and Minorities (BCM) hostels, with a capacity to accommodate 918 students.
“As many as 1,500 additional applications, however, have been submitted to the Department, seeking admission to the hostel,” said the officer.
District In-charge Minister U T Khader, addressing a meeting at the deputy commissioner’s office hall on Saturday, agreed that there was a need for additional hostel in Mangaluru.
He added that the problem could be solved if one of the five hostels sanctioned to Dakshina Kannada is shifted to Mangaluru.
Scholarship
Speaking further, Yogish said, “Students from backward classes have filed 72,592 applications for scholarships and the scholarship amount was released to 71,000 students. As the students have failed to link their bank accounts with their mobile phone numbers and Aadhaar numbers, the scholarship has not been released to the remaining 1,592 students.”
Khader urged the officers to appoint NGOs to monitor the work of running hostels coming under the Social Welfare Department. “Fix an NGO for a hostel and ensure that the facilities of the government reaches the students,” he added.
Hemalatha, ITDP officer, said that the work on the post-matriculation hostel in Manjanady is likely to be completed in September.
No land
Officials said that as many as 82 Ambedkar Bhavans had been sanctioned to Dakshina Kannada district. “Of these, 15 Bhavans are facing shortage of land. Work on remaining villages is in progress. Also, while the project is for Rs 38 crore, the government has released only Rs 19 crore so far,” they informed the minister.
In response, Khader promised to get the funds released.
The officer also said that the district-level Ambedkar Bhavan was constructed at Urwa Store at a cost of Rs 18 crore. “The government has released Rs 15 crore, but the Bhavan requires an additional Rs 50 lakh for lighting and sound system,” the officer added.
Assistant Commissioner Ravichandra Nayak said that five houses had been partially damaged in the district, following heavy rain.
The compensation to the sufferers will be released shortly, he added.