The Hindu

• Awareness campaign to be held on steps to prevent malaria 
• Review meeting of Karnataka Development Programme held
• Regional Advanced Paediatric Care Centre to be inaugurated on November 14

Mangalore, Jun 17: Health issues came to the fore at the quarterly review meeting of the 20-point Karnataka Development Programme chaired by Minister for Fisheries, Endowment and district in charge B. Nagaraj Shetty here on Saturday.

With chikungunya creating a scare in various parts of the State and neighbouring Kerala, and malaria making a comeback in Mangalore, the Minister directed the health authorities to gear up to meet these challenges.

Taking note of concerns expressed by Deputy Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao about increase in the number of cases of malaria (plasmodium falciparum), Mr. Shetty directed district surgeon and superintendent of District Government Wenlock Hospital J. Prabhudeva to open a round-the-clock blood testing centre at the hospital.

Rao directed Dr. Prabhudeva to ensure that the results of blood smears were available in 12 hours.

District Health and Family Welfare Officer H. Jagannath said the Department of Health was undertaking a month-long public awareness campaign on steps to prevent malaria from June 23.

Dr. Jagannath said that he had convened a meeting of all taluk health officers. An effective action plan would be chalked out to prevent the outbreak and spread of chikungunya in the district, he said. Stating that the Regional Advanced Paediatric Care Centre here, funded by Infosys Foundation, would be dedicated to the nation on November 14, the Minister directed Dr. Prabhudeva to make arrangements to see that the centre had all the equipment and staff before hand.

Investigation on

The Puttur sub-division Assistant Superintendent of Police Harsha P.S. has been directed to investigate the dacoity case reported at Bantwal recently, Superintendent of Police B. Dayananda has said. Two teams, including one of the District Crime Intelligence Bureau, has been set up in this regard.

Replying to a query raised by Shetty at the review meeting,Dayananda said that while the overall crime rate in the district was on the downswing, there had been a spurt in the number of cases of house break-in and theft. The department was pursuing the Bantwal case seriously, he said.Dayananda said that law and order situation in Dakshina Kannada had been peaceful since January. The peaceful and successful conduct of the byelection in Ullal was a testimony to the prevalent situation in the district, he said.