Issue of MV Atal and MV Ashoka echoes in Parliament: You buy ingredients and someone else takes away your Biryani; Kuldeep on MV Atal and MV Ashoka issue

Vikramaditya

Port Blair, Mar 19: The recent news report saying that Andaman and Nicobar Administration is planning to hand over two mega passengers ships, MV Atal and MV Ashoka, being built at Cochin Shipyard ltd., to Indian Navy, has triggered a row in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Now the lone Member of Parliament of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has raised the issue very firmly on the floor of Parliament and demanded to retain these ships for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

“On 16th March 2021, I raised the issue in Parliament regarding the two ship MV Atal and MV Ashoka, which the government is planning to give to Indian Navy. I requested the Government to retain the ships with Andaman and Nicobar Administration for the welfare of the people of these Islands,” the MP wrote in a social media post.

“This is very sad news. I request to retain these ships for Andaman because these ships are being built for Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This is like buying ingredients for Biryani but once Biryani is ready, someone else is going away with it,” Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma said on the floor of Parliament on 16 March 2021.

Earlier, Mr. Sharma had written a letter in this regard to the Prime Minister of India.

In his letter to PM the Andaman MP, Mr. Sharma had said that the Andaman and Nicobar Administration in the year 2017 has placed an order on the Cochin Shipyard limited for construction of four passenger-cum – cargo vessels for Andaman & Nicobar Administration under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government of India as a replacement to existing ships of similar categories which have outlived their service life and has become unsafe & unseaworthy for making voyages.

As per official sources, these two 1200 passenger cum 1000 tonnes ships MV ATAL and MV ASHOKA being constructed at Cochin Shipyard Limited is the replacement to MV NICOBAR and MV NANCOWRY which were constructed and pressed into service in the year 1991 and 1992 respectively.

At present there is only one ship namely MV Swaraj Dweep for commutation of Islanders between Port Blair and Ports at Kolkata Chennai and Visakhapatnam.

This ship built in the year 1999 has lived a service life of 22 years and is undergoing major refit and repairs owing to her deteriorated structural and machinery condition.

Mr. Sharma added that as per prevailing shipping norms, a well-maintained passenger Ship has a service life expectancy of around 25 to 30 years, therefore taking into account the prevailing condition of this ship, she is also apparently on verge of retirement from service.

“Withdrawal of the ships under-construction namely MV Atal and MV Ashoka from the Island- Mainland passenger service sector of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the only available ship MV Swaraj Dweep also nearing her retirement, the passenger ship service in the Island – Mainland sector will completely cease to operate in next two to three years,” the MP mentioned in his letter to PM earlier.

The decision to handover mega passenger ships MV Atal and MV Ashoka now seems to have become a major issue in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as almost all political parties and organizations are opposing this move.