Sheekha Bureau
Port Blair, Jan 16: The Jirkatang Check Post area is one of the main stop where almost all tourists visiting North and Middle Andaman get down for a while for refreshments but instead of keeping the area superbly clean and organized the Panchayat seems have totally neglected the area.
Very recently the Ferrargunj Panchayat, which has the responsibility of maintaining the Jirkatang area, had announced to collect Garbage Tax from ATR vehicles in order to raise funds for keeping the area clean and providing proper parking place for vehicles but even after nearly three months, it seems that the Panchayat has done nothing for the area.
Some Garbage bins were placed long back in the area but clearly those bins are used only by educated and responsible people while others continue to throw trash on road.
Adding to the pain dozens and dozens of cattle roam freely in the area and they keep the entire road stretch near Jirkatang Check Post covered with Cow Dung.
Sadly this is the image, which we present infront of visiting tourists and expect that tourism will bring more employment for Andamans.
In true sense the entire Jirkatang area is a total disgrace for Andaman Tourism but it is sad to see that neither the concerned Panchayat is taking any action nor the Tourism Department is bothered to contact the Pradhan of the area to ensure cleanliness.
Public, tour operators, ATR vehicle operators now demand that the Pradhan of Ferrargunj must disclose that how much money has been collected yet from Jirkatang area as Garbage Tax and how much money has been spent till today and for what purposes.
