Mass drug administration drive to check elephantiasis on Monday

January 21, 2012

Mangalore, January 21: The Department of Health and Family Welfare, in a bid to control spread of elephantiasis, will take up a mass drug administration drive on Monday, January 23, in Mangalore city and several other parts of Dakshina Kannada district.

Announcing this at a press meet here on Saturday, District Health and Family Welfare Officer (DHO), O. Srirangappa, said health workers would make door-to-door visit in urban and rural areas to freely distribute diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) and albendazole tablets.

The disease drive will be carried out in Mangalore city and rural areas and in Bantwal and Puttur taluks simultaneously, he said adding that the department aims to distribute tablets to total of 1445946 people in these three taluks.

“Each children aged between two years to five years should consume one DEC tablet, while persons aged between six years and 14 years should consume two DEC tablets and one albendazole tablet. And persons aged above 15 years should consume three DEC tablets and one albendazole tablet at a time”, he said.

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Mangaluru–Kasaragod bus fare rolled back after Kerala protests force NHAI to shut Arikkady toll plaza

coastaldigest.com news network

February 5,2026

Mangaluru: The KSRTC Mangaluru division has rolled back the fare hike on buses operating on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route following the suspension of toll collection at the Arikkady toll plaza near Kumbala in Kasaragod district.

The fare revision had been implemented after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began toll collection at the Arikkady plaza on NH-66. As a result, fares for ordinary and Rajahamsa services were increased by ₹7 and ₹10, respectively, raising the bus fare from Mangaluru to Kasaragod from ₹81 to ₹88.

Senior Divisional Controller of KSRTC’s Mangaluru division, Rajesh Shetty, said the fares were reduced after toll collection at the Arikkady plaza was stopped. “The tollgate began operations on January 13, and the toll amount was deducted from the FASTag accounts of KSRTC buses operating on the route. Following an order from the central government to suspend toll collection, KSRTC has also withdrawn the additional fare with immediate effect,” he said.

At present, vehicles travelling on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route pay toll only at the Talapady toll plaza. The toll for light motor vehicles (LMVs) at Talapady is ₹80 for a same-day return, while heavy vehicles, including buses, are charged ₹250. At Arikkady, the toll rates were ₹130 for LMVs (same-day return) and ₹450 for buses.

Protests against Arikkady toll plaza

The Arikkady toll plaza witnessed widespread protests from January 12, the day toll collection commenced. On the second day, an action committee led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf launched an indefinite protest at the site. Except for the BJP, leaders and workers of most major political parties participated in the agitation.

On the night of January 14, a large number of protesters gathered at the plaza and vandalised property, following which authorities temporarily suspended toll operations. The BJP later also expressed opposition to the toll plaza and criticised NHAI’s decision.

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