Port Blair, August 25: The Lt Governor, Lt Gen. (Retd) A. K. Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, SM, visited Southern group of Islands from 23rd to 25th August 2013. The Chief Secretary, Mr. Anand Prakash and senior officers of the Administration accompanied him during the visit. On 23rd August 2013, he visited Great Nicobar Island and visited Indira Point, the Southern-most tip of Indian Territory and paid homage at the statue of former Prime Minister of India, Late Smt Indira Gandhi. He directed the Commissioner-cum-Secretary (APWD) to beautify the Indira Point and create a proper path from the helipad which is presently covered by high bushes and marsh.
Thereafter, he had a meeting with the HoDs, PRIs, Tribal Council, Ex-Servicemen and general public in the APWD Guest House at Campbell Bay. On this occasion, the Lt Governor distributed monetary compensation to some of the affected land owners whose land were submerged during the tsunami of 26th December 2004 and also distributed the Mission Logo of District Mission on Disaster Preparedness to the Pramukh, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Singh and Chief Tribal Captain, Mr. Barnabas of Great Nicobar and Little Nicobar Tribal Council. During the meeting, several issues were raised by Tribal Council, PRIs, Ex-Servicemen and general public. He directed all Departments to resolve public grievances in a time-bound manner and also advised the Department Officials to have a proactive and committed approach in resolving public issues. He also emphasized on the beautification of the Island and directed the concerned agencies & PRIs to take initiative in this regard. He also advised the people to only put up their genuine grievances.
He then visited Shastri Nagar to witness the pace of construction of North-South Road from 36th KM which leads to Indira Point and advised the In-charge Officer of GREF to adopt a two pronged approach: one, from the 36th KM side and the other from the Indira Point side in order to complete the road at the earliest. He inspected the jetties at Gandhi Nagar and Campbell Jetty to have a firsthand knowledge on the proposed transshipment port/project. The Lt Governor also gave directions to ALHW to complete the wharf under construction which is meant for berthing mainland bound vessels in Campbell Bay by December this year. He also visited some sites which get inundated by the tidal waters in Campbell Bay revenue village and issued directions to expeditiously complete the sea wall construction work pending there. He approved the construction of a footpath and also suggested to the Pramukh/PRIs to undertake simultaneous work on construction of shops, beautification of the main market and development of park. The Lt Governor also gave other time bound directions to the departments of Medical, Education and APWD.
In the morning of 24th August, the Lt Governor visited Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve at Campbell Bay, which has recently been recognized by UNESCO under the Man and Biosphere Programme. The DFO, Mr. Agni Mitra explained the ecological significance of the Biosphere Reserve to him and the team of officials who accompanied him and also gave the Lt Governor a tour of the nature trail that has been recently introduced by the Forest Department.
On completion of his visit to Great Nicobar, the Lt Governor and the team of officials proceeded to Kamorta Island. The Chief Tribal Captains, Smt. Ayesha Majid and Smt. Cecilia of the Tribal Councils of Nancowrie and Kamorta respectively extended him a traditional welcome. The Lt Governor then visited Kakana village to inaugurate a MGNREGA work on development of Coconut Plantation on a 2 Hectare area at Kakana village. He also interacted with the tribal leaders along with the local officers and got a grip of various issues and directed the concern Departments to solve those issues in a time-bound manner. He also directed the DHS to take necessary action to establish an Ultra Sound Scanning machine in the Community Health Centre at Kamorta. Further, the Lt Governor also directed the Deputy Commissioner, Nicobar to prepare a District Fisheries Development Plan in order to ensure improved livelihood options for the tribal fishermen of the entire District. Later, he inaugurated a Cashew Nut Processing Unit and a Cold Storage Chamber funded under the RKVY scheme, constructed by Tribal Development Corporative Society. On the occasion, traditional dances were performed by villagers of Munak of Kamorta Island and a welcome address given by Mr. Rashid.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor advised the Tribal Councils to come forward and form village level Self-Help Groups which can undertake productive/revenue generating activities and also improve their livelihood. Thereafter, the Lt Governor also visited the Champin village of Nancowrie Island where he visited the settlement areas and the water reservoir. He directed the APWD to complete the Champin-Tapong road on priority. Later at a brief function, he urged the Tribal Graduate Students to take advantage of the Special Coaching Programme for IAS/IPS exams organized by ITDA-Nicobar in Chennai and make the tribal community of Nicobar proud of their achievements.
On 25th August 2013, he visited Katchal, Teressa and Chowra. In all these places, he interacted with the Tribal Councils and general public and also undertook inspections of the jetties. He directed the ALHW to ensure the early completion of the works. In Chowra Island, the Lt Governor undertook a visit around the Island, by riding a bike himself with the Chief Secretary as the pillion rider. He directed the APWD to prepare an estimate for the construction of a guest house in Chowra Island for the benefit of the visiting government officials to the Island.
He then visited Car Nicobar and received the donation from the Tribal Council, Car Nicobar for contributing to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the Uttarakhand flood relief. After completion of the three-day visit, the Lt Governor returned Port Blair in the afternoon.
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