Kakinada, Dec 31st: The East Godavari zilla parishad chairman, Mr. Ch. Venugopala Krishna said that the Parishad was focusing on providing education and supplying protected drinking water to all and laying emphasis on sanitation and civic infrastructure in rural areas. Speaking to reporter here on Thursday, Mr Venu said that and amount of Rs 4,573 lakh was spent on various works in the district after he became chairman in 2006-2007. The parishad focus in the current financial year is laying of new roads and repairing existing ones under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Twentytwo works costing Rs 10.34 crore was sanctioned in 2009-10 with 12th Finance Commission grants and Rs 38.62 crore was alloted for different works with the ZP general funds between 2006-07 and 2009-10, he added. He said that nearly 1.22 lakh students of ZP high school were provided desk-cum-benches at a cost of Rs 7.11 crore and nearly 21,000 students would be provided similar benches shortly. Tricycles, hearing aids, wheelchairs and other implements were being distributed free of cost to the Physically handicapped. The District stood second in the state in the Nirmal Grama Puraskar Scheme in 2009.