The Hindu

Mangalore, Jun 26: A total of 1,922 tonnes of fertilizer has been distributed to farmers in Dakshina Kannada district for the current kharif season up to the end of May. This includes 427 tonnes distributed through the Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation and 1,495 tonnes through private dealers, president of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, K.P. Sucharitha Shetty, has said.

An official release quoting Mr. Shetty, who presided over the monthly meeting of the Karnataka Development Programme here on Monday, said the National Seeds Corporation Ltd. and private dealers had supplied 86 quintals and 1,284 quintals of certified seeds respectively to farmers. The authorities also supplied 159 litres of pesticides and 493 kg of chemicals to farmers up to the end of May.

The primary agriculture credit cooperative societies in the district had disbursed Rs. 34.85 crore short-term loans, Rs. 1.25 crore medium-term loans, and Rs. 48.97 lakh long-term loans to farmers. Mr. Shetty directed the officials of the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. to provide power connections to all completed drinking water projects as well as to drinking water projects taken up under the Ganga Kalyan scheme.

He said that the district health and family welfare office had conducted 1,228 family planning operations, including 1,222 on women.

Mr. Shetty said that the health authorities had taken steps to prevent an outbreak of chikungunya. Physicians and staff attached to medical colleges in the district were cooperating with Health Department officials in checking the spread of the disease, he added.

Requesting the people not to panic, Mr. Shetty said the State Government had supplied medicines to the primary health centres in the district. He also sought the help and cooperation of the Health Department officials and other authorities concerned to tackle the disease.