Minister for Higher Education V.S. Acharya said on Tuesday that the government had been according priority to fisheries sector in the district.
He was speaking at the Rajyotsava Day function organised by the district administration at the District Stadium here.
Mr. Acharya said the government had allocated Rs. 37 crore for building the third stage of Malpe Fisheries Harbour. About Rs. 2 crore had been allocated for removing silt from the fisheries harbour at Hejmady. A fisheries harbour would be built at Koderi.
The government had been giving financial assistance to fishermen to buy vehicles which would help them sell their fish. The subsidy for houses under the housing development scheme for fishermen had been increased. The annual quota of subsidised diesel for fishermen had been increased from 92,000 kilolitres to 1,05,000 kilolitres. This would help the fishermen working in the mechanised boats.
As many as 138 tanks in five Assembly constituencies of the district were being rejuvenated at a cost of Rs. 25 crore. He said Rs. 2.34 crore had been deposited in the accounts of 9,227 farmers under the Suvarna Bhoomi Scheme. Farmers could use this money for agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, organic farming, sericulture, fishing, and vermi-compost.
The State Highways under the Public Works Department would be repaired by the end of November. Major district roads would be repaired by the end of December. All efforts were made to get funds from the Centre and the State government for the repair of roads coming under the zilla panchayat.
Programmes had been formulated to provide sites to the landless people in rural and urban areas. The construction of the District Offices Complex, which would bring most of the government departments under a single building at Manipal, was in the final stages. All efforts were made to get it inaugurated by the Chief Minister by this November end.
Basic infrastructure and transport facilities would be created in all the five Assembly constituencies in the district at a cost of Rs. 50 crore. A plan was being formulated to widen the Adiudupi-Malpe Road here.
Udupi district was in the forefront of Kannada literature. Writers such as the late Kota Shivarama Karanth, M. Gopalakrishna Adiga, and Kavi Muddana had made stellar contribution to Kannada literature, Dr. Acharya said.
MLAs Raghupati Bhat and Lalaji Mendon, Deputy Commissioner M.T. Reju, and zilla panchayat president K. Shankar Poojary were present.
