Udupi (The Hindu): As many as 45 additional anganwadi centres would be opened in Udupi district on October 2, Gracy Gonsalves, Deputy Director of Women and Child Welfare, has said.

She was speaking at the monthly Karnataka Development Programme review meeting here on Saturday.

Ms. Gonsalves said that 25 would come up in Kundapur, 13 in Udupi, five in Brahmavar, and two in Karkala. The anganwadi teachers of nearby anganwadis would be holding the additional charge of these new anganwadis till new personnel were recruited, she said.

Dinakar Babu, president of the Udupi Zilla Panchayat, said that the department should give details of the applications and also the action taken on them to the gram panchayats.

Ms. Gonsalves said that the department was in the possession of land records of 241 anganwadi buildings and 15 empty sites. It was yet to receive building/land documents of 583 anganwadi buildings in the district, she said.

Priyanka Mary Francis, chief executive officer of the zilla panchayat, directed the Department of Public Instruction to collect the land/building records of the buildings under it in the district.

Mr. Babu said that the officers should stop saying that they were “following up” the matter and instead give a report of the progress made by their departments on the implementation of welfare schemes.

Yogishwar, Deputy Director of Food and Civil Services, said that foodgrains had been distributed to 1.6 lakh families in the district. The ration coupons would be distributed till September 29.

The consumers could themselves get their coupons linked to the Aadhaar numbers by dialling 161. Once they received the coupon, code they would get ration items. The coupons for three months would be made available from October onwards.

Publicity was being given on the method of procuring the coupons through fair price shops and other mass media. The department was planning to provide ration coupons for six months at a time, he said.

The task of providing new ration cards had been entrusted to either the panchayat development officers or village secretaries. The issuing of cards would be brought under the Sakala scheme to reduce and avoid delays, he said.

An officer of the Minor Irrigation Department informed the meeting that the process of closing the sluice gates of vented dams in the district would begin from November onwards. Mr. Babu directed the Health Department officers to take check the spread of Rat Fever in the Brahmavar region.