Sri Vijaya Puram, Mar 13: Former Pramukh of Mayabunder, Mr. Abdul Siddique, has urged the administration to immediately repair and restore the harbour and navigation channel lights at Mayabunder Harbour to ensure safe vessel operations, particularly during night hours.
In a representation addressed to the Chief Secretary of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration at Sri Vijaya Puram, Mr. Siddique highlighted the difficulties faced by vessels due to non-functioning harbour and navigation lights at Mayabunder.
He stated that during a meeting held on 31 January with the Chairman and Chief Port Administrator (CPA) at Port Blair, the issue regarding ship services to Mayabunder was discussed. Prior to the meeting, the resumption of vessel services, particularly those of M.V. Nalanda and M.V. Sindhu, had been facing difficulties mainly due to malfunctioning navigation lights at the harbour and along the navigation channel. Because of this, vessels reportedly faced serious challenges while approaching and berthing at the harbour during night hours.
With the services of M.V. Nalanda and M.V. Sindhu to Mayabunder now resumed, Mr. Siddique emphasized that it is essential for the concerned authorities to immediately inspect and repair the navigation and harbour lights so that vessels can operate safely and efficiently, especially during night sailing.
He further requested the administration to issue necessary directions to the Directorate of Shipping Services to restore the earlier night sailing schedule from Mayabunder, which previously departed around 9:00 PM. According to him, the earlier schedule was highly convenient for the general public, particularly for people from economically weaker sections.
The night sailing service allowed passengers to complete their daily work, have dinner at home and then board the vessel at night. They could rest during the journey and reach Port Blair in the morning, enabling them to attend to their work the same day and return the next day without much difficulty. In comparison, the present afternoon sailing schedule causes inconvenience as passengers are forced to rush their work and are often unable to complete their tasks before departure.
In view of the above concerns, Siddique has requested the administration to intervene and issue necessary directions for the immediate inspection and repair of harbour and navigation channel lights at Mayabunder, and also to consider restoring the earlier night sailing schedule in the public interest.
He expressed hope that the administration would look into the matter with due consideration and take necessary action at the earliest.
