Vikramaditya
Port Blair, Sept 09: While Andaman Sheekha appreciates the concern of Administration to restrict the movement of the public in order to slow down the spread of coronavirus, there is an urgent need to provide some kind of relief for people who are really poor and are stranded in various islands without sufficient money.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha a senior officer told Andaman Sheekha that the problems related to the transfer of stranded passengers to Shaheed and Swaraj Dweep even to other remote Islands are just because the Administration is trying to slow down the movement of the public in those remote pockets so that the virus spread remains under control.
He said that the administration can’t take risk of sending infected people to remote Islands considering the fact that many Islands do not have the necessary medical facilities to deal with a large number of COVID19 positive cases.
“Whenever we try to impose restrictions many come up with MHA orders saying that this is a violation of MHA order but one must see the ground realities. Considering the local circumstances extreme precaution is needed,” he said.
He also urged media to spread awareness among the public that movement must be minimized during this time of pandemic and if a large number of infected people reach remote pockets, it will be difficult to handle.
He also urged PRI members of all remote Islands to monitor recently arrived people in their own area and request them to remain indoors at least for a week.
While such sentiment of Administration is laudable it is also required to identify and help poor people who are stranded in various islands and are unable to return their home. In Port Blair there are many such people struggling to find a place for boarding and lodging. The District Administration must open a helpdesk for stranded people.
