Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, April 18: A mass rally was organised by the Local Born Association, Andaman & Nicobar Islands to press their long pending demand for Inner Line Permit system in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands as well as abolishing the tax imposed by the PBMC for residential Buildings in the Islands.
More than a thousand people mostly the locals of the islands joined the protest rally organised by the Local Born Association.
The rally started from the Netaji Hall situated at Aberdeen Bazaar this afternoon at 02:30pm and headed towards Phoenix Bay and finished at Raj Niwas. It is learnt that the a delegation of LBA went to meet the Lt Governor to submit their memorandum but unfortunately as the Lt Governor is not on the station, the delegation couldn’t do so.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, the President, Local Born Association, Dr Prem Kishen said that the report of Sekhar Singh Commission to implement Inner Line Permit system in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands was ordered by the Supreme Court in the year 2002. Now it is more than 15 years but the Andaman Nicobar Administration have not implemented it yet which is gross violation of Supreme Court’s Order.
Dr Prem said that the local people, the children of Freedom Fighters are presently neither having Jobs nor land, just because all the suspected Bangladeshi people are intruding Andaman and settling down.
He said that the Bangladeshis have now encroached huge of landmasses in these islands and the local have nothing except a house which was constructed by their grandparents that too in which the Port Blair Municipal Council is going to collect tax now.
“The Local Born Association is totally against this tax and one of our most important demands is that the PBMC must abolish tax against the residential Buildings,” Dr Prem said.
Dr Prem further added that the administration must now start working for implementing Inner Line Permit System in the islands otherwise the administration must prepare themselves to stop the thousands of Locals of these islands for the coming protests, the LBA will be organising against the Administration.
Further talking to Andaman Sheekha, Mr Om Prakash, Chairman, Local Born Association said that the LBA has got an appointment of the Lt Governor tomorrow at 04:00pm when they will submit their memorandum to the Lt Governor.
