‘Udupi district prepared to tackle Covid-19 emergencies’

District In-charge Minister S Angara said that Udupi district is prepared to handle Covid-19 emergencies.

Speaking after unfurling the National Flag to commemorate the 73rd Republic Day celebrations and receiving the guard of honour at Ajjarkadu district stadium, the minister said that the district’s positivity rate has been 18% in the last seven days. In the last week, 6,959 positive cases were reported.

When compared to other districts in the state, the district has a high level of testing. In 2022, approximately 4,000 people per million will be tested. When compared to the state, the testing rate is twice as high and three times as high when compared to the national average, he said.

The district has achieved 98.40% success in administering the first dose and 86.61% success in administering the second dose, he added.

First dose vaccination is provided to 87.12% (46,657) of children aged 15 to 18. As many as 13,348 frontline workers and beneficiaries have been administered with precautionary doses. The district and taluk government hospitals have been renovated, and 48 paediatric intensive care units have been added, he said.

In addition, the minister said that a preliminary planning report worth Rs 1,215 crore has been submitted to the government to consider a multi-village drinking water scheme covering Karkala, Hebri and Kaup areas. Jal Jeevan Mission has approved 535 works. Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, 1,53,801 farmers have received incentives totalling Rs 215.22 crore.

The minister said that a material recovery facility has been established in Nitte in Karkala, at a cost of Rs 2.50 crore. In 150 GPs, waste is effectively disposed of. A material recovery facility worth Rs 177 lakh has been offered to the Alevoor solid waste management unit.

Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 9,803 assets are being formed with a total investment of Rs 31.90 crore. As many as 7.46 human days are formed under the scheme, compared to the target of 7 lakh, while
Rs 250 lakh is spent on national highway repairs of 2.40 km and another Rs 8,637 lakh is spent on district road repairs of 87.77 km, he added.

Under Gramabandhu Sethu Yojane, 404 works at a cost of Rs 2,200 lakh are undertaken. A total of Rs 25 crore has been set aside for the development of the beaches of Ottinenne, Trasi-Maravanthe, Someshwara and Paduvari. The Parusharama Theme Park in Umikal Kunja, Karkala, has been allocated Rs 800 lakh, he said.

Ice plants and biofloc units are being established as part of the Pradhan Mantri Matsyasampada Yojane. The construction of Hejmadi Kodi port has been allocated Rs 180.84 crore and land acquisition is currently underway. About 53 acres of land in Kambadakone, Byndoor, has been set aside for the development of a seafood park, said the minister.