The agricultural scenario in the district was in focus at the review meeting of the Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) at the Mysuru Zilla Panchayat office on Friday. The agricultural review was held in the wake of the weak southwest monsoon this year. Officials underlined the imperatives of preparing farmers for short-term or alternative crops.
Joint Director of Agriculture Mahanteshappa said cumulative rainfall average for Mysuru district from January to July 20 was 374 mm, against which it had received only 291 mm. Paddy-growing areas like T. Narsipur and K.R. Nagar were facing water stress with 35% and 30% rainfall deficiency respectively. He said H.D. Kote had received 359 mm against a normal of 492 mm from January till July 20 indicating a 27% deficiency.
Last year, the taluk had received 714.4 mm of rains in the same period.
K.R. Nagar had received 228 mm of rain against a normal of 326 mm. Mysuru had received 263 mm against a normal of 319 mm. Nanjangud had received 258 mm against a normal of 308 mm and Periyapatana had received 292 mm against a normal of 401 mm.
It was pointed out that against a target of completing sowing on 4 lakh hectares, the department was able to achieve only 53% of the target with 2.13 lakh hectares.
Mr. Mahanteshappa said some of the crops cultivated during pre-monsoon were ready for harvesting but the yield would be low owing to the prolonged dry-spell that has led to withering of crops at the mature stage.
K. Jyothi, ZP CEO, faulted the Agricultural Department for not doing much under MNREGA to provide jobs, leading to distress migration. She set August 25 as the date to achieve the prescribed target for job creation.
The relatively poor performance of the district in the SSLC examination conducted early this year came under flak. The district, which was ranked 11th overall in the State, slid to the 18th spot, and officials called upon Educational Department staff to ensure that students were provided the right orientation and thrust to fare well in the examination.
On the health front, it was pointed out that there were as many as 27 dengue cases of which 9 were reported from Mysuru. Venktatesh, DHO, said antiviral treatments have begun. Though there was no case of malaria, he said lack of hygiene in public places and stagnant water were causes for concern and could lead to proliferation of mosquitoes.
Warning issued
The heads of departments under Mysuru Zilla Panchayat came under fire from Ms. Jyothi for their absence. She said it was reflective of their casual attitude towards project implementation. They were also warned against abstaining from future review meetings or delegating their juniors to attend.
Ms. Jyothi said this attitude would not be tolerated and they should seek permission from her to abstain from meeting while presenting a genuine reason. She said it was not enough for them to merely make generalized statements like ‘the project is being implemented’ or the ‘issue will be looked into’. She sought statistics of works in progress.
She added that there are instances when heads stated that ‘action was being taken’ for over a year. If this continued, then action would be initiated against the officials, she warned.
No staff at this primary health centre for three years
The functioning of a primary health centre in Antharsanthe close to Nagarahole National Park in H.D. Kote taluk, was in focus at the KDP meeting on Friday.
It transpired that the unit was completed at a cost of nearly ₹1.5 crore and inaugurated three years ago. Yet, it did not have staff and the Department of Health and Family Welfare were keeping it functional till 1 p.m. by deploying staff from the mobile health services.
This irked K. Jyothi, ZP CEO, Mysuru, who rebuked health officer Venkatesh. “You cannot appoint staff but the least you can do is bring the issue to the notice of the higher authorities and constantly put pressure to get the work done,” she said.
She directed the officer to prepare a consolidated report of PHCs without adequate staff and submit it to her.
