Dakshina Kannada is the first district in Karnataka to have MRFs covering all panchayats: Dinesh Gundu Rao

Dakshina Kannada (DK) district in charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Sunday, January 26, said DK is the first district in the State having provided material recovery facilities (MRFs) to handle dry waste from all the 223 gram panchayats. As many as four MRFs handle the dry waste, he said.

Dakshina Kannada (DK) district in charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Sunday, January 26, said DK is the first district in the State having provided material recovery facilities (MRFs) to handle dry waste from all the 223 gram panchayats. As many as four MRFs handle the dry waste, he said.

Speaking after unfurling the national flag at the district level Republic Day, Mr. Rao said MRFs are set up at Thenka Yedapadavu, Ujire, Kedambady and Narikombu villages. While the Tenka Yedapadavu MRF can process 10 tonnes dry waste per day (TPD), the remaining three have 7 TPD capacity. Another MRF will soon come up with 10 TPD capacity in Balepuni.

The Minister said under Jal Jeevan Mission programme as many as 57,997 houses in the district are given piped water connection and the remaining houses will get connection shortly. Seven multi-village drinking water schemes are taken up in Alangaru, Kutrapady, Moodbidri, Ulaibettu, Ilantila, and Ullal-Kotekar areas at a cost of ₹1,313 crore.

Mr. Rao said ₹50 lakh is given to ICAR’s Central Plantation Crops Research Institute for research to prevent yellow leaf disease in arecanut. A grant of ₹30 lakh is given to Dakshina Kannada under the Integrated Control of Pests and Diseases of Horticulture Crops scheme. With inclusion of arecanut and pepper under weather-based crop insurance scheme, 1.32 lakh farmers have registered for the scheme.

On the five guarantee schemes the Minister said, as many as 3.73 lakh women have registered for Gruhalakshmi and a total of ₹ 1,014 crore is deposited to accounts of beneficiaries. Under Gruha Jyothi scheme, 2.49 lakh beneficiaries are given ‘zero’ electricity bill. Each of the 2.59 lakh ration card holding families were receiving ₹170 every month under the Anna Bhagya against 5 kg of rice. As many as 4,184 youths have registered for Yuvanidhi of providing monthly unemployment allowance, while 7.19 crore women have travelled for free in the KSRTC buses under the Shakti.

Lauding Government Wenlock Hospital for the recent successful liver and cornea harvesting of a ‘brain dead’ patient, the Minister said Wenlock is among the nine hospitals in the district recognised as organ retrieval centres. Thirteen below poverty line patients have been benefitted from organ retrieval.

Reiterating government’s no nonsense approach to acts of ‘moral policing’, he said government will sternly deal with such groups. He called upon people to ostracise members of such groups.