Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (MM/CN)

Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje

Mangalore, Jun 1: Krishna Palemar, the newly-named minister from Dakshina Kannada (DK) district, said that his first priority will be to eradicate Chikungunya from the region.

He said this during a discussion with Deputy Commissioner (DC) M Maheshwar Rao at Circuit House, on Sunday, June 1, soon after he reached the city from Bangalore. Palemar sought information about the precautionary measures taken by the district administration in combating Chikungunya across the district, especially in remote areas.

He was informed by the DC that homeopathic medicines were distributed to residents in Chikungunya affected areas such as Sullia and Puttur taluks to prevent the contagious disease from spreading further.

Palemar urged the DC to bring in fogging machines from neighbouring districts to defeat the menace of Chikungunya at the earliest.

In an earlier address to media persons, the minister said that C G Kamath, Narayan Shetty, and Ullal Srinivas Mallya, who have made significant contributions to the development of the district are his role models.

He asserted that he had been successful in maintaining peace and harmony in his communally sensitive assembly constituency, and would work towards extending this to the district.

Palemar also had a word of caution for government officials. "I will try my best to maintain cordial relations with all the officers of the district, but I will not allow any officer to waste his time by giving silly reasons," he stated.

Speaking about the road work on the National Highway between Suratkal and B C Road, he said that it was in full swing with contractors on the job day and night to complete it at the earliest.  Hence, the protests alleging slow pace of road work were unjustified, he opined.

Palemar added that the special task force he had previously formed, at his own expense, to help the poor would be extended to the whole district. He asked for co-operation from neighbouring MLAs to make this effort a successful one.

The minister assured that finding a permanent solution to the sea erosion issue and the SEZ matter would top his agenda. BJP district president Monappa Bhandary, BJP leaders Umanath Kotian, Shrikar Prabhu, and others were also present.