Havelock, June 01: It was a momentous occasion for the residents of Havelock, as the new ANIIDCO Petrol Retail Outlet at Havelock No.6 was inaugurated by the Lt. Governor, A&N Islands, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi here this morning. The Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray, Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Shri Anindo Majumdar, Executive Director, IOC, Shri Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, ZPSA, Adhyaksh, Shri Jaydeep Kumar Dey, Pramukh, Havelock, Apurba Chandra Roy, Senior Officers from A&N Administration, IOC and ANIIDCO, ZPSA Members, PRIs and a good number of residents of Havelock were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, soon after unveiling the plaque, marking the inauguration of the new ANIIDCO Petrol Retail Outlet, the Lt. Governor said the inauguration of ANIIDCO Petrol retail outlet marks an important occasion for the residents of Havelock. He said, with its inauguration, the problem of procurement of petrol and diesel at higher prices will be solved, as people can now buy petrol and diesel at the same price that is prevailing at Port Blair. This new retail outlet will benefit the people of Havelock Island as the prices of petrol and diesel will come down as per the existing rate, he added. The Lt. Governor further stated that this initiative is a step in the right direction, which will benefit both, the residents as well as visiting tourists, who hire private vehicles for sightseeing, as hiring charges of the vehicle might come down.
Lauding ANIIDCO Chairman, Shri Anindo Majumdar, MD, ANIIDCO, Smti Ankita Mishra Bundela, IOC Executive Director, Shri Ranjan Mohapatara, Officials of APWD and the A&N Administration for the timely completion of this project, the Lt Governor said, the concerted efforts mounted from all quarters truly deserves appreciation. He also stated that ANIIDCO has been catering to the needs of the Islanders by providing petrol, diesel to every part of the Islands with the support of IOC. This ANIIDCO Petrol retail outlet has a storage capacity of 20000 ltrs. of petrol and diesel each. The Lt. Governor said, since 1990, ANIIDCO has been striving hard to ensure the supply of petroleum products like petrol, diesel and lubricants at various places of A&N Islands. It had set up a petrol pump at Junglighat as dealer of IOC. In the year 1994-95, the Corporation took over petroleum, Oil, Lubricants (POL) storage facility at Rangat, Mayabunder, Diglipur and Little Andaman catering to the needs of mainly Govt. Departments. At present, ANIIDCO is engaged in the operation of 4 IOC Retail Outlets at Junglighat, Mayabunder, Diglipur and Hut Bay and 6 Consumer Pumps at Rangat, R.K Pur, Katchal, Teressa, Kamorta and Campbell Bay. The Lt. Governor expressed hope that Havelock being a tourism hub of the Island with hundreds and thousands of tourists visiting this place daily, the new retail outlet will play a pivotal role in development of Havelock in a big way besides boosting of tourism.
Saluting the far sighted vision of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi towards the development of the country, the Lt. Governor stated that the Administration shall remain grateful to the Prime Minister for having sanctioned the Optical Fibre Project on September 30th, 2016 as soon as he was apprised of the poor tele-connectivity issue prevailing in the Islands, which is hampering the process of development. The Lt. Governor informed that efforts will be mounted to ensure that the OFC Project is fructified by 31 December, 2018 as per the target set. The Lt. Governor remarked that once the OFC Project is completed, it will be a game changer in A&N Islands as IT hub will be set up here in Isles, which will provide employment opportunity to many talented youth. He said that the tele-connectivity will be boosted by 100 GBPS giving further fillip to different departments and setting up of various industries. He also informed that in order to bring in IT industry in Isles, rigorous efforts are being put in by the Administration and as part of this, a workshop comprising IT experts from across the country were invited to deliberate on the feasibility of setting up of IT Hub here in the Islands and the Administration has assured its support of any kind to materialize this dream.
The Lt. Governor conveyed the Prime Minister’s love and concern towards A&N Islands and assured, that with the blessing of the Prime Minister, the Administration will strive to take A&N Islands towards the path of development in the days to come.
The Lt. Governor also informed about the scheduled visit of the Minister of Road Transport, Highway and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari to A&N Islands on June 10 for inauguration of seven major projects, which include National Highway from Port Blair to Diglipur. He also informed that on June 12, the tender for Baratang Bridge will be opened and on the same day, the Minister will also inaugurate the work for construction of this bridge besides inauguration of dry docks at Port Blair and extension of Neil Jetty.
The Lt. Governor also stated that in line with the Government’s vision of clean and green energy, the A&N Islands are also poised for clean and green energy with the inauguration of two solar power projects in Isles. He said, by December 31, 2018, the Islands will be turned into a 100% clean and green energy Islands and diesel generated power will be done away with.
Regarding, tourism sector, the Lt. Governor informed that new projects will be initiated in this sector to provide the facilities to the tourists and Islanders. Accordingly, he disclosed that the initiative to start sea scooter activity is under process and will be launched shortly. He stated that Havelock being a tourist hub, the Administration plans for introducing laser show on sea at Radha Nagar beach similar to one Singapore. The DPR of this project is under preparation and once it is finalized, the Administration will ensure that this project is a world class one, the Lt. Governor said. He said by June first week, Hotel Taj will also be inaugurated for high end tourists while the pending projects will be taken up subsequently.
About Shipping, the Lt. Governor informed that new vessels will join the existing fleet and are under construction at Cochin Ship Yard, which will be delivered soon. In the meantime, to cater to the needs of the Islanders, the Administration has chartered a private vessel Coral Queen which will soon start its voyage, connecting the southern group of Islands with Port Blair. In addition to this, 3 ships from Sri Lanka will also be joining the fleet shortly.
Regarding Health Sector, the Lt. Governor lauded the facilities available at PHCs, CHCs and hailed the cleanliness being maintained in these health centres besides availability of medicine and Doctors. He also informed that to augment the health facility in Isles, a Cath Lab will be inaugurated shortly which will cater to the heart related ailments besides setting up of Departments like Nephrology, Urology and Orthopaedic facility for spine surgery, knee replacement will be made available by Jan 2018. With such facilities, the need for going to mainland for treatment of such disease will be done away with, said the Lt. Governor. In the coming year, the Lt. Governor stated that efforts will be mounted by the Administration in making A&N Islands hospitals as the best health care provider in the country.
Regarding the demand put forth by the MP pertaining to renaming of Sir Huge Rose Islands as Rani Jhansi Island, the Lt. Governor directed the Chief Secretary to conduct a committee meeting and adopt the required procedure for renaming the island.
The Lt. Governor also inaugurated the petrol and diesel Dispensing Unit and also planted a sapling in the premise of the petrol retail outlet on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray highlighted the developmental activities taking place in the Islands for the last three years under the under the leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Listing the major achievements made in Havelock during the last three years under the sectors viz. Power, Petrol & Oil, LPG connection, the MP said Havelock is on the process of becoming like Singapore in the years to come. He also lauded the efforts of the Petroleum Minister, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan for the various green energy project initiated by his Ministry. He also informed about the A&N State Planning Board Meeting held yesterday under the Chairmanship of the Lt. Governor, in which, the State Budget has been approved by the Board Members for the development of Isles in various sectors. The MP also highlighted on Mission Organic which is being pursued vigorously by the Administration in turning A&N Islands into a complete Organic Islands besides development in sectors like roads and highways, shipping, Health, Power, tele-connectivity etc. He also lauded the Deputy Commissioner South Andaman, Shri Udit Prakash Rai and his team for their efforts in rural development and meeting the needs of the people. Hailing the contribution of ANIIDCO, IOC and the Administration, the MP stated that with the inauguration of this new retail outlet, the residents of Havelock will be benefitted immensely. The Member of Parliament also put forth the demand for renaming of Sir Huge Rose Island as Rani Jhansi Island.
In his address, the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Shri Anindo Majumdar who is also the Chairman of ANIIDCO said, the day marks an important occasion for the Administration as well as the residents of Havelock as the long pending demand of the people have been fulfilled with the inauguration of the new petrol retail outlet at Havelock. He said, Havelock is an important tourist destination and the Administration will ensure that the required facilities are made available here.The Chief Secretary said, this outlet, having a storage capacity of 20000 ltrs of petrol and diesel each will cater to the need of the residents and tourists as well as tour operators. The total cost of the project is Rs. 2 crore, he said and hailed the contribution of IOC and APWD for timely completion of the project.
He further informed that apart from this, ANIIDCO also proposes to commission three new petroleum retail outlets at Campbell Bay, Neil Island and Baratang. At Campbell Bay, the civil work has been completed by APWD and installation of storage tanks and dispensing units has also been undertaken by IOC and it is expected to be commissioned shortly. Similarly, at Neil, land has already been allotted by the Administration and the Boards of Directors of ANIIDCO has already approved the civil work to be undertaken by APWD. At Baratang, land has been identified after joint inspection by IOC, Revenue Dept and ANIIDCO for setting up of petroleum outlet and the matter is in progress. The Chief Secretary also requested IOC to carry out more CSR activities in Isles for developmental purpose as per their feasibility.
In his address, the Executive Director, IOC, Shri Ranjan Kumar Mohapatara hailed the inauguration of this new petrol retail outlet as a historic occasion for the people of Havelock as well as the A&N Administration. He informed that during the visit of Hon’ble Petroleum Minister to A&N Islands, it was discussed that Havelock does not have petroleum outlet and has to depend on boats for transhipment of petrol and diesel incurring high expenditure and accordingly, the project was initiated and it has fructified with the support of the Administration and ANIIDCO as well as APWD. He said the newly inaugurated petrol outlet is a gift of the Administration & ANIIDCO to the people of Havelock and urged the residents to utilize the service efficiently.
Earlier, the GM, ANIIDCO, Shri Mohd. Pervaiz welcomed the gathering while the programme concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by the Sr. Manager (P&A), Shri Saji Samuel.
