Mangaluru: District In-charge Minister V Sunil Kumar said the district is a ‘laboratory for nationalism’.
He was addressing the gathering after unfurling the national flag during the Republic Day celebrations organised by the district administration at Nehru Maidan on Thursday.
“Efforts of instilling national pride and patriotism among youth are being made in this region for many decades. Many elders have set an example for nationalism. Compared to other districts in the state, DK is very closely associated with patriotism, irrespective of the barriers like caste and creed,” he said.
Sunil Kumar said that it is the duty of not only the government but all citizens to uphold the aspirations of the Constitution.
‘’The Constitution has guaranteed the right to express, liberty and justice for the people. On the occasion of the Republic Day, it is our foremost duty to pay our tributes to the soldiers who protect our borders and to those who have sacrificed their lives for the country,’’ he added.
Deemed forest
“As many as 34,850 hectares of land has been dropped from the list of deemed forest, as per the expert committee report. The land is handed over to the revenue department. An order has been issued to utilise the land for development works,’’ Sunil said.
Title deeds have been provided to the people who have constructed houses in government lands. In total, 53,049 title deeds have been provided under 94 C, while 25,943 title deeds have been provided under the 94 CC, he said.
He added that DK district has been ranked second in the country for its achievement in the Prime Minister’s Employment Guarantee Programme (PMEGP).
Development works
The minister said the state government has taken up seven new multi-district drinking water projects in the district at an estimated cost of Rs 1040 crore.
‘’Rs 576 crore is being utilised in the district to implement Jal Jeevan Mission programme and to provide drinking water connections to one lakh households in three phases. Fecal waste treatment plants are being constructed in Golthamajalu (Bantwal) and Ujire to scientifically treat grey water in the rural region,’’ he added.
‘’Rs 128 crore has been deposited to the bank accounts of 1,39,992 farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Scheme. Under the Chief Minister’s Raitha Vidya Nidhi programme, scholarships worth Rs 18.02 crore has been disbursed to 37,000 students. Government has opened 12 ‘Namma Clinics’ to ensure people have easy accessibility to health services,’’ the minister said.
An amount of Rs 65.63 crore was disbursed towards the medical expenses of 33,000 beneficiaries, under Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka scheme, he said.
Various teams conducted the march past on the occasion. Meritorious students were felicitated.