Baratang, September 13: The Gram Panchayat Nilambur, Middle Andaman, has issued a strong memorandum to the A&N Administration highlighting severe hardships faced by residents due to collapsing infrastructure in Baratang Island. The memorandum, addressed to the Commissioner-cum-Secretary (APWD, Power & Health), seeks immediate intervention in roads, electricity, water supply, and healthcare, warning that the region remains decades behind in basic development.
The Panchayat expressed grave concern over the poor condition of rural roads. A newly constructed 2-km road from Wrafters Creek to Khatta Khari has already deteriorated, suspending bus services and isolating 48 families. Elders and the sick are being carried in makeshift stretchers to hospitals. Another 2.7-km road from Rajatgarh to Wrafters Creek, built just five years ago, has fallen apart within 18 months of usage. Villagers, including school children, are forced to walk long distances on unsafe tracks. Additionally, the road project from ATR to Abhaygarh has remained incomplete for 12 years, leaving villages without proper access and delaying medical emergencies.
The much-publicized Wrafters Creek Water Supply Project, inaugurated in 2018, still awaits initiation despite repeated reminders. Villagers continue to depend on unsafe nallah water, as wells run dry during summer. With growing population, tourism, and vehicle ferry operations, demand has far outstripped supply. Residents are forced to walk up to 2 km for basic drinking water. The Panchayat has urged the administration to expedite the project and utilize available check weirs to provide temporary filtered supply.
Nilambur faces frequent and prolonged power outages, severely disrupting essential services. The Panchayat has demanded installation of at least two high-capacity generators of 1000 KVA and 500 KVA, stressing that reliance on private generators is unsustainable. The existing powerhouse, over 40 years old, requires urgent strengthening along with new transformers for villages where voltage is almost non-existent. The situation worsened on September 15 when Nilambur plunged into darkness for an entire night.
Adding to the woes, the Panchayat reported that the only available condition truck for transporting equipment is unreliable, causing delays in emergency repairs. It also called for recruitment of permanent line men, pointing out that absence of full-time staff has led to long delays in restoring power supply.
The high-tension line passing through dense forest at Wrafters Creek frequently trips, plunging villages like Rajatgarh and Khatta Khari into darkness. The Panchayat has requested the line be shifted roadside to reduce faults and allow installation of streetlights for public safety.
On the healthcare front, the Panchayat flagged that despite having two doctors posted at Baratang PHC, the male doctor is rarely available and the lady doctor, who is the designated Medical Officer, is often on leave. This leaves women patients especially vulnerable. Lack of reliable medical services during frequent power cuts has created what the Panchayat calls a “pressing healthcare gap.”
The Panchayat reminded the Administration of the Commissioner’s recent visit, during which he witnessed the hardships faced by villagers. It warned that departmental delays, poor coordination, and scarcity of resources have brought development to a standstill. Villagers, it said, often feel they are living “59 years behind the rest of the world.”
The Nilambur Panchayat has urged strict accountability from contractors and immediate redressal of these long-pending issues to restore normal life in Baratang.
