Vikramaditya
Port Blair, Nov 17: Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, the Member of Parliament, ANI and Chairman, Project Coordination Committee, National Cooperative Union of India, A&N Islands today said that his prime focus areas for development of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are Water, Employment, Sports, and Health.
Addressing a gathering during an event to felicitate local media persons during a programme to mark National Press Day at Megapode Resort today, Mr. Sharma lauded the media for seriously raising the issues concerning the people of the islands through their newspapers.
Addressing the gathering Mr. Sharma said that availability of water in Andaman can change the future of Andaman Economy if planned properly and he wants that the UT administration should come up with projects for enhancing water storage capacity which will also help generate employment.
The other important sector is tourism which has tremendous growth potential to generate employment. However, promotion of tourism hugely depends on availability of abundance water. Tourism can generate both revenue and employment if the water issue is resolved and our Islands becomes a surplus water State.
Improvement in the health sector is also a focus area for the Member of Parliament. He is of the view that despite adequate funds, the Health sector here still needs massive improvement. “All PHCs in Andaman must have facilities upto ultra sound and all CHCs in Andaman must have dialysis unit,” he said.
Improvement in the sports sector is another focus area, the Member of Parliament is working on. He said that there is a need to generate the interest of the youth towards sports and games. In view of the facts that the younger generations are more inclined towards drugs and banned substances, more sports infrastructure facilities should be created so that more and more youth can be motivated towards sports and games. He also informed that he has provided funds under MPLAD for renovation and repair of three stadiums in the Islands.
Following issues raised by General Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Media Federation & Editor Andaman Sheekha, Daily, Mr. Sanjib Kumar Roy regarding lack of social security schemes for journalists of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma promised the gathering that from the CSR funds of ANSCB, health insurance cover will be provided to all working journalists.
