Mangaluru Hajj Bhavan to be built shortly: Minister Zameer Ahmed
Mangaluru, November 16: Food and Civil Supplies and Minorities and Wakf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan said that land would be identified at Adyar on the outskirts of the city and Hajj Bhavan would be constructed shortly.
Reviewing the works of his departments at the Circuit House here on Friday, the Minister said that the land would be surveyed at Adyar first and Hajj Bhavan would be constructed after acquiring the land, he added.
Due to network problem in 16 fair price shops, Point of Sale (POS) system was not installed due to which, ration was being distributed through coupon system. The problem would be discussed in the government level and solved soon. The owners of fair price shops have installed computers, printers, laptops, POS and other instruments at their own cost and distributing the ration. He has received complaints from the beneficiaries that some fair price shop owners have been denying in issuing cards under the pretext of network problem. The government was planning to have agreement with the private companies to solve network problem, he assured.
The department has the target of distributing gas connections to 1,586 beneficiaries and in the first phase, the department has released funds to the agency to provide gas connection to 1,349 beneficiaries. Total 824 stoves were distributed and gas connection was given to 581 beneficiaries as of now, the officers said.
Responding to it, the minister directed the officials to reach the target under Anila Bhagya scheme by November and the remaining 768 gas connections should be provided immediately.
Those who have applied for inclusion of their names or corrections were not being given the ration cards on time. But the officers drew the attention of the Minister about non-availability of the cards. The Minister said that he would discuss the issue with the department secretary. Total 7,009 applications were pending for issuing new cards and eligible beneficiaries should be identified and issued the cards, he directed.
When officers said that there was less demand for tur dal in the district and more demand for moong dal, the minister said that moong dal would be supplied as per the local demand. He directed the officials to take legal action against those who cheat consumers in weight and measurement.
Scarcity of staff
The district has the scarcity of staff. Among sanctioned posts, nine posts were vacant due to which, programmes were not being implemented effectively. The Minister assured of solving the problem.
Department officer Srinivasaiah, Minority Welfare department officer Usman, Wakf district officer Abubakar, Minority department district manager Sridhar Bhandari and others were present.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
