John Wilbert & Saurabh Singh
Port Blair, Jul 24: People of Katchal Island demand regular ships sailing to the Katchal Island as mostly the sailing of big vessels is directed to Campbell via Nancowry. Due to this, the residents of Katchal have to face difficulties as they have to travel to Nancowry and wait for the speed boat sailing to eventually reach Katchal Island.
On many occasions, the Member of Parliament has also raised this issue with the A&N administration but till now no comfort has been provided to the people of Katchal Island.
Regarding the matter Mr. GT.Lawrence, General Secretary, Katchal Settler’s Welfare Association said that the Katchal jetty was inaugurated in 2017 and is suitable for big vessels as well but till now only MV Khalighat, MV Chowra and MV Sentinel have only berthed here that too for a short period of time. He said that the maximum sailings are only preferred from Port Blair to Campbell Bay via Nancowry Islands (Kamorta Jetty) and KatchalIsland is mostly neglected.
He said that the passengers travelling to Katchal Island have to face several difficulties while waiting at Kamorta Jetty (Nancowry), as the passenger hall at the jetty lacks basic amenities like fans, toilets, drinking water, etc.
Lack of proper accommodation facilities, hotel facilities create more difficulties for the old people, people with any medical conditions, women and children, he added.
