Udupi, (DHNS): District In-charge Minister Jayamala has said that all the elected representatives in the district should forget party differences and join hands to ensure that the government schemes reach the beneficiaries. She was addressing reporters on Sunday, during her maiden visit to the district after being handed the charge of the district.

The minister said that she was overwhelmed at being given the charge of her native district. Jayamala said that there are several government programmes that require effective implementation. Referring to Mathru Poorna Yojane, the minister said that the programme had been successful in all other districts of Karnataka except Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and the coastal districts.

“The women in these districts are well settled, unlike in other parts of the state, where pregnant women are not offered the required amount of food and are also deprived of certain necessary facilities. Very often, in other districts, even if the amount of food is offered to the pregnant women, the family members do not allow them to have the nutritious food.

Many pregnant women, therefore, suffer from malnutrition and anaemia,” said Jayamala. She added that milk and eggs are offered along with sprouted cereals if the beneficiary is vegetarian. “The state government will look into all possibilities to make the scheme more effective. It is noticed in some areas that the anganwadi centres are too far from the pregnant women’s houses and the women find it difficult to avail of the benefits owing to the distance,” she said. Jayamala, however, refused to comment on the issues pertaining to the alleged failure of the law and order mechanism in the district.