Vikramaditya

New Delhi, Oct 30, 2024: The Government of India has appointed Shri Keshav Chandra, IAS (AGMUT: 1995) as the Chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The Ministry of Home Affairs issued the official notification today, confirming Shri Chandra’s appointment following the approval from the Competent Authority.

As per the notification, Shri Keshav Chandra will assume charge as Chairperson of the NDMC with immediate effect and continue to serve in this capacity until further orders. Shri Chandra, a seasoned IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre, brings vast experience to his new role in leading NDMC’s governance and administration.

Shri Keshav Chandra is serving as Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands since 3rd August 2022.

 

Vikramaditya

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 30: Shri Rakesh Chander Lal, the beloved voice of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is bidding farewell as he steps into retirement after a distinguished career with the Regional News Unit at Akashvani. Known for delivering Pradeshik Samachar each morning, Shri Lal’s voice has resonated across the islands, marking him as a cherished presence in the lives of countless listeners.

Throughout his career of 28 years and seven months, Shri Lal’s dedication to journalism and community service became particularly evident during critical times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led the daily broadcasts with three special bulletins for over two and a half months, ensuring vital updates reached the public. Additionally, his live bulletins from the counting centers during the 2019 and 2024 general elections provided reliable, up-to-the-minute coverage.

The Akashvani team and the island community expressed their deepest gratitude to Shri Lal, who has helped elevate the platform’s presence and impact. “You have worked hard to climb this mountain, and now that you’ve reached the top, you finally get to enjoy the view,” read a message from his colleagues. “Congratulations on your retirement and wishing you new vistas.”

From 2010 to 2012 when he was transferred to New Delhi, he also read the national news bulletin from New Delhi.

Shri Lal’s commitment to journalism has left an enduring legacy, and his contributions will be celebrated and remembered by all who tuned in to the Voice of Islands.

 

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 29: Once again, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has topped in distribution of the highest number of offers of appointment to the job aspirants in this UT in the Grand Rogar Mela organized by A & N Administration today at DBRAIT Auditorium. Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi participated in this nationwide Rozgar Mela through video conferencing at 40 different locations across the country. The A&N Islands also stood topped in both 1st round of Rozgar Mela held on 26.09.2023 at DBRAIT Auditorium and the 3rd round of Grand Rozgar Mela held on 12.02.2024 at the historic Netaji Stadium at Sri Vijaya Puram. Now, in that series, Fourth Rozgar Mela was held on 29.10.2024 at DBRAIT Auditorium wherein, 1044 job offers have been distributed in the public function which is again the highest number of jobs offered to more than 51,000 unemployed Youth amongst all 40 venues, nationwide.
It has indeed been a matter of immense pride for this UT that, with the concerted efforts of UT Administration under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Lt. Governor, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the UT Administration has consecutively been the fourth time, torch-bearer in leading the Rozgar Melas, nationwide spread over 40 different locations among the various States and UTs with the highest number of Offers of Appointment i.e., 1044 given by Shri Satish Chandra Dubey, Minister of State for Coal & Mines, GoI as chief guest in the presence of Shri Bishnu Pada Ray, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, as guest of honour at the DBRAIT Auditorium in this UT so as to fulfill the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi to provide Govt. jobs to lakhs of unemployed youth. On this occasion, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Shri. Bishnu Pada Ray, Chief Secretary (i/c) of A&N Administration, Shri.A.S.P.S. Raviprakash, PCCF, DGP (i/c) and Senior officers and employees of the Administration graced the mega event with their benign presence.
The Hon’ble Minister of State for Coal & Mines, Shri Satish Chandra Dubey informed the gathering that the Government of India has recently re-named Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as Sri Vijaya Puram, the erstwhile ‘Kalapani’, which will not only give the people a feeling of freedom from external slavery but also give them a glimpse of their ancient heritage and legendary culture. In this context, Sri Vijaya Puram signifies a break from the British colonial legacy and is a symbol of victory in India’s freedom struggle lasting for more than 100 years and the unique historical role of these Islands in their freedom struggle. He made a special mention of the natural beauty and serene pollution free environment of this UT and thus, every Indian must pay a visit to this UT.
The chief guest, expressed his extreme satisfaction and appreciated the efforts made by the UT Administration in organizing the Rozgar Melas at such a mass scale which has been ‘un-precedented & flawless’ and stated that the Union Govt. under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister is committed to provide employment opportunities to the unemployed youth in mission mode. He also categorically mentioned that out of 1044 beneficiaries in this Rozgar Mela, there were 532 females whereas only 512 were males, which clearly reflects that the women have truly outnumbered the males which has been a sign of inclusive growth and development without gender bias. He hoped that all the youth of this UT including those who are receiving the appointment letters today should contribute to fulfill the dream of Hon’ble Prime Minister of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray while expressing his satisfaction on the entire recruitment process stated that he can definitely vouch for the transparent and fair manner in which, the entire recruitment process has been undertaken by A&N Administration. He wished all the selected candidates, a bright future and a great day. He mentioned that, around 4888 posts have been filled, so far, which is a great achievement for this UT. He suggested that the UT Administration should utilize the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana especially for the Nicobar Group of Islands in the larger public interest for their energy requirements as well as overall development.
During the function, Shri A.S.P.S. Raviprakash, Chief Secretary (i/c), A & N Administration expressed his gratitude towards Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Lt. Governor, A&N Islands and stated that under their persistent guidance and support, the entire recruitment process has been undertaken by the Andaman & Nicobar Administration in an efficient manner for the fourth time. He also thanked the chief guest, Shri Satish Chandra Dubey for gracing the occasion. He further stated that, UT of Andaman and Nicobar has so far conducted three Rozgar Melas in close succession i.e., on 26.09.2023 with 865 Offers of Appointment given, subsequently, on 30.11.2023, 258 Offers of Appointment were distributed and on 12.02.2024, with 2721 Offers of Appointment distributed at the hands of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Today also, 1044 candidates have been provided with job offers during the Rozgar Mela.
Shri C. Arvind, Secretary (Perl.) welcomed the chief guest for gracing the function by visiting the territory for the first time at such a short notice and motivating the youth. He expressed his sincere gratitude towards Hon’ble Lt. Governor for providing necessary directions and unconditional support which has helped this UT Administration to conduct the entire recruitment process so smoothly and in a time-bound manner. He also welcomed Hon’ble Member of Parliament, for his gracious presence and thanked him for providing persistent positive criticism and guidance for people centric Administration.
He made a special mention of the Chief Secretary, Shri Keshav Chandra with whose periodic reviews and day-to-day supervision, the UT has been able to achieve the highest recruitments in a mission-mode over last two years resulting into employment opportunities for nearly 5000 unemployed Youth.
He also mentioned the untiring and relentless efforts and team spirit shown by the R & E Section of the Secretariat for making the entire recruitment process and this massive exercise possible in a time-bound manner with full transparency and merit-based. He also informed that there were more than 229 different posts and more than 9 types of reservations in various Departments with 10 lakhs permutations & combinations for which, our own people have developed a trusted software with 100% accuracy especially in an environment where even a single mistake could have resulted into innumerable litigations. He also informed the gathering that nearly 98% of the selected candidates belong to this UT and thus the Administration has indeed supported Hon’ble PM’s vision for making India Berozgar- Mukt by 2047, a reality.
The public function concluded with the vote of thanks by Dr. Anil Agarwal, Secretary (Labour and Employment) and Special Secretary (Personnel) of the UT Administration, who offered heartfelt gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, under whose sustained guidance and inspiration, the Nationwide Rozgar Melas of this magnitude could be organized at nearly 40 different locations so as to provide substantive employment opportunities to the unemployed youth. He also expressed sincere gratitude towards the chief guest, Shri Satish Chandra Dubey,Hon’ble MoS, Coal and Mines, Shri. Bishnu Pada Ray, Hon’ble MP of this UT and other dignitaries present for gracing the event with their august presence.

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 29: The team of Police Station Pahargaon has once again proved its mettle in the ongoing war against drugs and has booked 05 persons under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, resulting in the recovery a total 1925 grams of illicit Ganja.

On 28^th October 2024, acting on credible information, Pahargaon Police successfully intercepted an illicit Ganja transaction at Jodakilan. The operation, supervised by Insp. Mohd. Elias, SHO PS Pahargaon, led to the arrest of three accused T. Raja Shekhar, Saharul Gazi, and Rana Karmakar. During the raid, Police seized 1,775 grams of illicit Ganja. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act 1985, and the investigation entrusted to SI P. Jeevan.

During the course of the investigation, the accused persons were interrogated, leading to the arrest of two additional individuals, namely S. Raman and Vinith Kumar Murgeshan, with a further recovery of 150 grams of illicit Ganja and the investigation of the case is under progress.

Due to the sustained and sincere efforts of the Police raiding team comprising SI Manish Narayan, HC/1329 Ravi Kumar Limbu, PC/3015 Shiv Kumar, PC/828 Rahul Kr. Mourya, LPC/241 Saheeda Banu, and PC/1437 Lendha Horo and SI P Jeevan, IO of the case, under the leadership of Inpr. Mohd Elias SHO PS Pahargaon, the accused persons 1) Saharul Gazi S/o Mr. Sadek Gazi, 21 yrs, Pvt Labour R/o Near St. Mary School, Bhatu Basti; 2) T. Rajasekhar S/o Mr. R. Thangaraj, 43 yrs, R/o Lillypur, Haddo; 3) Rana Karmakar S/o Mr. Nemai Karmakar, 41 yrs, R/o Near Kali Mandir, Jodakilan; 4) S. Raman S/o Mr. Veerappan Selvam, 31 yrs, R/o Prothrapur; and 5) Vinith Kumar Murgeshan S/o Mr. Murgeshan, 26 yrs, R/o New Pahargaon, were arrested, and a total of 1.925 kg of illicit Ganja was recovered.

The entire raid was conducted under the supervision of Miss Anushtha Kalia, IPS, SDPO (SA), and the overall supervision of Miss Shweta K Sugathan, IPS, SP(D), South Andaman.

The general public is requested to share information pertaining to any crime or other illegal activities to Police at 112, 03192-232100 & 03192-236641. The identity of the informant will be kept secret.

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 29: A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Electoral Officer (i/c), A&N Islands, Shri Kale Amit Marutirao, IAS, in the Conference Hall of SVPMC today with the all recognized Political Parties and media persons in connection with Special Summary Revision of Photo Electoral Roll-2025 and the publication of Integrated Draft Electoral Roll-2025. The Deputy CEO, Shri Vinayak Chamadia, IAS and Electoral related Officers were also present during the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, the CEO informed that the Draft Electoral Roll was published today (Oct.29). The period for claims and objection starts from Oct. 29 till Nov. 28, 2024. Special Campaigns will be in held all 411 Polling Stations on Nov. 9, 10, 23 & 24, 2024 and disposal of claims and objections will be done on Dec.24, 2024. The checking of health parameters and updating data base and printing of supplements will be done by Jan.1, 2025 and the publication of final electoral roll will be on Jan.6, 2025. He further informed that as per the Draft Electoral Roll, 2025, there are 3,12,247 electors,1,62,081 male electors, 1,50,163 female electors and 3 third gender electors. The Gender Ratio is 926 and EP Ratio is 721. The percentage of EPIC Coverage is 99.39% and there are 411 Polling Stations.
The CEO also appealed to the Political Parties to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLA) for each Polling Station who would be associated with Booth Level Officers(BLO) during the revision period for identifying any missed out eligible voters, change of residential address of voters, updation of voter’s details besides encouraging eligible citizens who is going to attain the age of eighteen years on any of the subsequent qualifying dates to file for inclusion of names in the electoral rolls for purification of Electoral Roll.
The Draft Electoral Roll 2025 was also shared with the Political Parties present in the meeting. The Political Parties also put forth their suggestions and their doubts were cleared during the meeting.

Vikramaditya
Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 29: The Food Safety Department took swift action today by ordering the closure of a popular Restaurant-cum-Bakery of Bhatubasti Junction this evening until further notice after a video showing a rat eating a cake inside the freezer unit went viral.
The video, which quickly circulated on social media, captured the rat among food items displayed in the restaurant’s freezer. Responding to public outcry, the Food Safety unit swiftly inspected the premises of Restaurant-cum-Bakery “Shree Karpagam”. Following the inspection, the team disposed of all food items to ensure safety standards were maintained.
Additionally, the Food Safety Department has directed the restaurant management to thoroughly clean the premises and implement effective pest control measures. As per department today the Food Safety department had conducted a routine inspection in the Restaurant-cum-Bakery in the morning hours, but during that inspection no pests were noticed, it is learnt.

 

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 28: Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, Member of Parliament, A & N Islands, today (28th October) held a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Car Nicobar and heads of line departments to review the achievements and progress of various projects in the region. During the meeting, he highlighted certain critical issues being faced by the tribal community, including road repairs, electricity supply, street lighting, water shortages, health concerns, transportation challenges, and educational needs, particularly the shortage of teachers. The MP further emphasized on the importance of resolving the above said grievances to improve the quality of life for residents in Car Nicobar.
Earlier the MP reached Car Nicobar on 26th October and held meetings with various organizations including the Tribal Council and heard about the problems being faced by the Nicobaree community and others. Mr. P Elango, Senior BJP leader accompanied the MP during the visit.
On the second day of his tour the MP visited different tribal villages on 27th October and interacted with the local people, students, and health professionals among others.
Mr. Ray reached Sri Vijaya Puram after a 2 days tour today in the afternoon.