DJ Venkatesh
Havelock, Jan 03: It seems that the Swachh Bharat Mission has failed to make any impact in Andaman’s most favourite tourist destination, Havelock Island.
As filth and garbage is dispersed everywhere in Havelock, tourists are finding the Island too dirty and leaving negative remarks in social media and tourist sites.
Tourists now question the local inhabitants about the garbage collection and disposal system at Havelock Island.
There might be excessive garbage dumping due to sudden increase of the tourist for the New Year celebrations but this is the time when the administration and local panchayats need to show the impact of the awareness campaign launched by the PM Mr. Narendra Modi three years ago.
Tourists feel that during peak tourist seasons when guests from all over India and world reach Havelock Island, the Administration should put special focus on cleanliness of Havelock Island. “If the garbage management system is so pathetic in Andaman’s most hyped Tourist Spot, Havelock, what will be the condition of other beaches?” questioned a tourist.
Shortage of dustbins also can be noticed at the jetty and surrounding areas as tourists are not getting places to properly dump the plastic bottles and filth.
Every tourist vehicle, restaurants & Hotels are busy carrying the tourists but no one is available for better guidance to them for garbage disposal. There should be dedicated vehicles installed with small dustbins like Sikkim state one of the tourists said.
Even the administration is not bothered to clear the dustbins and stray animals at Havelock jetty area, make maximum use of such negligence and spread more garbage all around.
Recently the Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan when passed from the beach area of Havelock Jetty also noticed such garbage dump and have certainly got a wrong image of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Although Garbage management at Havelock Island is the responsibility of local Panchayat but the Administration has a bigger role to play in this regard. Tourism is the lone surviving industry of Andaman and Havelock is the epicentre of Andaman Tourism. If Havelock loses its charm then Andaman Tourism will also collapse immediately.
