Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Apr 8: Visibly annoyed by the absence of Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner, V Ponnuraj, and the zilla panchayat chief executive officer, Shivashankar, at the meeting convened by him, principal secretary in the state department of food processing and harvesting technology, R Ramesh, cancelled the meeting and walked away in a huff.

He was not convinced when the additional deputy commissioner, S Prabhakar Sharma, who was present, informed him that the deputy commissioner was in the meeting of the panchayat development officers, and that the zilla panchayat chief executive officer was busy with inspection work. “When I had visited the district last time, no meeting had been arranged. Today, two important officials have cold-shouldered the meeting. This shows the apathy of the district administration towards development activities. I will submit a report on this episode to the state government,” the official said.

He said that there has been a good demand for coconut processing units in the coastal districts of Karnataka, and that a proposal has been received by the state government on the setting up of a manufacturing unit of ‘Neera’, a drink made of from coconut and palm tree extracts. A proposal has also come for opening cashew processing unit. These files are pending with the excise department now, he added.

Suresh explained that under the 11th plan, the government has paved way for the modernization of the roadside eateries. He said that the government is ready to sanction grants if viable proposals are received, the main condition being that the health of the people does not suffer while executing this plan.

The official also revealed that Karnataka produces about 10% of the fruits and vegetables produced in the country, and that only two percent of this gets processed. He said that the government wants to encourage this sector through various schemes for boosting this activity.