Udupi: The issue of facilities in government schools dominated the general body meeting of the Udupi Zilla Panchayat here on Tuesday.

Raising the issue, Jyoti, member, said that some schools which she had visited had spoilt milk power packets and sought to know what was done about them.

K. Seshasayana, Deputy Director of Public Instruction, said that the milk power packets were supplied by the Karnataka Milk Federation to the schools. If the packets were opened, the schools had been told not to accept them.

If the packets were damaged or the content inside was spoilt, it was returned to the KMF. The school headmasters were responsible for checking the packets, he said.

Intervening, Shivanand Kapashi, CEO of Zilla Panchayat, directed Mr. Seshasayana to inform the headmasters not to get or store additional milk power packets. He also directed him to submit a report on this issue to him.

Ms. Jyoti also said that some schools were not sending the winners of zonal level Pratibha Karanji competitions to the cluster level competitions. Mr. Seshasayana said that he would look into the matter.

Babu Shetty, member, said that there were complaints that some government schools were refusing to admit students with poor marks. Intervening, Mr. Kapashi said that the government schools were open to all and could not refuse anyone.

Mr. Shetty said that the schools were refusing admission as they did not want their pass percentage to be affected. Mr. Kapashi directed Mr. Seshasayana to probe into the matter and submit a report.

Reshma Shetty, member, said that Navayuga company, which is undertaking the widening of the National Highway 66, had no authority to collect toll from a road belonging to the gram panchayat at Hejmady. Local vehicles too were not spared from toll, she said.

Mr. Kapashi explained that the company was collecting toll due to heavy vehicles dodging the toll plaza at Hejmady.

The company was within its rights to do so. It had already been decided not to collect toll from local vehicles from either Udupi or Dakshina Kannada districts, he said.

Janardhan Tonse, member, said that a fence should be constructed at the reserve forest at Havanje as three persons had died when deer crossing the roads had collided against their vehicles.

The explanation of the Forest Department that the pathway of deer could not be blocked meant that lives of deer was more important than human beings. The department should construct a flyover there, he said.