Pics: Meryick D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SHS)

Mangalore, Jul 5: Deputy director of public instruction (DDPI) Moses Jayashekar on Saturday July 5 said his department would ensure cent percent materialization of programmes outlined to increase the pass percentage among SSLC pupils studying in the district.

He was answering questions asked by the district incharge minister B Ramanatha Rai at Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) review meeting at the ZP office here. The meeting witnessed discussions on as many as 29 development programmes which are under way in the district.

The minister who presided over the meeting discussed at length the status of programmes undertaken to improve the academic rank of the district at the state level. Jayashekar said a meeting of expert teachers was convened during the beginning of the academic year and after the distribution of text books, teachers underwent training on how to educate slow learners in schools across the district.

He said the department will monitor every school to ensure parent-teachers' meeting was called regularly to keep parents of SSLC students updated on their progress. "The officials of the education department have adopted many number schools. They will shoulder the responsibility of dealing with SSLC issues. This year, slow learners will undergo coaching at regular intervals of time," he said.

The confusion prevailing with regard to BPL cards led to a heated debate, with ZP president Asha Gowda seeking clarification from the deputy director, food and civil supplies department Sharanabasappa about citizens who were denied the BPL cards by the department and on linking of EPIC number to the card. In response, he said the department has stipulated time till July 15 for those who were delisted to re-apply.

Asha Gowda contended that delisted people are unable to avail the facilities currently and encountering hard days. She further asked on the procedure of applying for the card at gram panchayats (GP), for which the officer said swift measures have been taken at GP level for the inclusion of BPL holders. However, he failed to answer to the problems faced by the applicants at GP level, which put him in a fix.

The department till now has issued BPL cards for 30,500 applicants. As many as 60,640 applications are with the department from across the district and 28,800 are yet to receive the cards. He assured that the remaining applicants would be given the cards in a shot span of time.

The agriculture department expressed that due to delay in the rain, the department was unable to meet the expectations regarding sowing of paddy and other crops. The month of June received only 739 mm of rainfall as against the normal 2,333 mm rainfall. The IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) has said the monsoon may gain momentum across the district after July 7. He said there was no shortage of seeds this year and they were distributed properly.

The officials of the traffic department said that the new rule enforced from Balmata to Bendoorwell was just experimental. The one-way traffic was enforced considering the growing vehicle density along the route. The department may revert to the old system, if the new rule causes more inconvenience among the road users, they said.

Review Meeting

In another meeting presided over by Ramanath Rai on the same day, the district administration discussed about land for erecting a new district complex, but was unable to arrive at any conclusion. The MUDA commissioner proposed two preferable lands, one at Alape and another at Bondel.

The land at Alape (10 acres) has to be handed over by the forest development corporation. According to deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim and MUDA commissioner Mohammad Nazeer, the land at Alape would be a better choice than the land at Bondel. Both of them contended that Alape could also accommodate the long-pending Rang Mandir. There are objections on building Rang Mandir at Bondel.

Minister Ramanath Rai however said he would speak to the managing director of forest development corporation on the possibility of handing over the land.

The meeting decided to call tenders to sketch the plan for the city bus stand near Pumpwell. The deputy commissioner instructed MCC commissioner Ajith Kumar Hegde to oversee the tender process for chalking out the plan and paying suitable remuneration.