DJ Venkatesh & Tarun Kartick
Diglipur, Feb 25: Andaman and Nicobar Islands is surrounded by sea from all sides and the only economical way of travelling in between these islands is through boats and ships. Every department concerned with the security of these Islands has its own fleet of boats. Forest Department of our Islands also has a fleet of 4-5 boats for carrying cargo and for carrying out patrolling inside creeks and remote areas for protecting the valuable resources.
Andaman Sheekha has gathered information that one of the boats of Forest Department has become a while elephant and the Forest Department is happily feeding the same years after year. The boat ML Pushpa is presently resting in peace at Ariel Bay jetty waiting for its Condemnation.
ML Pushpa had undergone repair five years ago. But due to lack of maintenance the ship grounded near Ariel Bay jetty just after few months of returning from maintenance.
The ship even though is not in working conditions but still there are five staffs posted for the ship at Diglipur including a Master, sarang, greaser etc .
There were six staffs posted until few months ago but one was eventually transferred to Mayabundar. The salary of the excess staffs without any work at Diglipur must have reduced the reserves of the administration to crores of rupees.
The staffs posted in the ship are seen roaming around the Ariel Bay jetty area and they rest for the whole day in the Eco-Hut constructed for tourists there near the jetty.
When Andaman Sheekha contacted Dr. Dinesh Kannan IFS, the Divisional Forest Officer of Diglipur to know why the staffs are still posted there in Diglipur even when ML Pushpa is not in working condition for more than three years he said whenever the condemnation file is approved we will immediately transfer the staffs to some other region.
He added that the ship has to be protected, so staffs are also necessary here although he said that the report of excess staffs has already been sent to the seniors. He also said that during every meeting with the senior officials of the Department ML Pushpa matter is raised and the department is following up its condition and is interested in repairing the Boat instead of its dismantling.
He also added that the matter is also being raised with PCCF and the staffs are ship staffs so they can be engaged in any other sorts of work. But according to the DFO all these staffs refuse to do any other kind of work.
Our Islands have a forest cover of about 84% of its geographical area. The coast line of our islands is about 1914 Kms and it is bordered with luxuriant mangroves and magnificent fringing coral reefs. Poachers from different foreign countries are proving to be a threat to our resources rich Islands.
The clean and pollution free environment of our islands make it the best place for promoting Eco- Tourism. In remote islands there are no forest staffs posted and either it is protected by the Police or it is left without protection, the state of the resources in these islands are not even known. The forest department of our Islands has only 4-5 wooden boats which are used for carrying cargo and for patrolling purposes but no patrolling in the remote islands are done by the forest department. The forest department also has less than 1000 Executive Staffs (about 900).
Our Islands being rich in natural resources have to be efficiently protected against the poachers intending to take away the golden bowl that rests in peace amidst the Bay of Bengal. The forest department should gear up for performing its duties in efficient manner and by modernizing itself and by efficient management of its staffs and transferring them to places wherever they are most required to contribute towards protecting the valuable resources.
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