Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, June 28: Non availability of Ship Tickets to Hut Bay, Car Nicobar, Havelock has added to the woe of people who were waiting to get a ship ticket, since last night outside the Marine Jetty.
The locals are facing problems in getting tickets of ship as they allege that maximum numbers of tickets are sold from backdoor.
Local people allege that tour operators with the help of few staffs, book huge number of tickets for their guests through black marketing, because of which common people are suffering.
Anguished over not getting a ship ticket even after waiting the whole night, a group of people staged a protest in front of Directorate of Shipping Services at around 10:30 AM demanding tickets or an alternative solution to their problem.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, a Havelock resident alleged that since last night she is being waiting to get a ship ticket and as her turn came the Clerk in the Ticket Counter on asking replied that ‘all the tickets are booked for the afternoon vessel for Havelock’, but the same clerk issued nearly 20 tickets to a person who was just behind me. “This definitely means that the Clerks in the ticket counter are involved in the black marketing,” Havelock resident said.
Other protestors demanded the DSS to start a special ship only for Hut Bay to solve the crisis and also demanded the department to take stringent action against the staffs and people involved in the black marketing of tickets.
As per reports, the Director of Shipping Services in the morning had assured the public that the DSS will arrange some other alternative within half an hour. But to the utter dismay, none of the arrangements was done by the DSS till late afternoon neither any message was conveyed from the Department after which the public again held a protest in front of the DSS Office.
When Andaman Sheekha tried to contact the Director of Shipping Service twice in this issue, the DSS office staffs intimated us that the Director is too busy in something else.
Sadly, on other hand the Lt. Governor is always available for a comment on crucial issues, lower level officers most avoid media so that they don’t have to answer to questions raised by public.
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