Udupi: District in-charge minister, Dr Jayamala has promised to take prompt steps to identify sand blocks in non-Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) and to extract sand manually. She was speaking at a press meet organized on Wednesday for providing details of decisions taken at the district progress meeting organized earlier in the day at the zilla panchayat auditorium here.

"Three sand blocks have already been identified in non-CRZ area in the district. The sand from these blocks would be provided on priority basis for houses, construction of which is either pending or partially completed under various government schemes, and government buildings. The district administration will be fixing price for the sand taken out from these blocks. At the same time, details of houses and buildings that are pending for want of sand in gram panchayats would be collected through the respective panchayat development officers, and sand would be provided to them through the gram panchayats in question," she explained.

Jayamala clarified that 7,598 ration cards are yet to be distributed and the department has been asked to complete this work soon.
The minister said that the concept of mobile Anganwadys has been implemented by the state government with the aim of ensuring good health and education for the children of migrant labourers, adding that one each such Anganwadi would be sanctioned to the five assembly constituencies in the district. She also promised to move a proposal to the government seeking payment of compensation to people whose crops have been affected by the rotting disease in 7,600 hectares.