DJ Venkatesh

Port Blair, 8 Jan: Finally MV Swaraj Dweep which was docked at Chennai port without Dry Dock for around 35 days for APS has now sailed to OMAN’s Port today evening.
Andaman Sheekha published a matter on 31st Dec regarding this matters that due to lack of coordination between Administration, Shipping Department and the Shipping Corporation of India the ship has been kept at Chennai Port and the Administration is paying for it, heavily.
Now MV Akbar is waiting for its fate as DSS is already recommends SCI to decommission the 43 years old passenger vessel MV Akbar. But why it is still lying at Chennai Port since 18 months and paying Port Charges, is know by the Administration.

Amit Halder & Sarthak Kanjilal

Port Blair, January 07: It was a great shock for the villagers of Manpur, Bengali Basti today when they spotted a Crocodile inside a large village pond.

As per the villagers, they saw the Crocodile inside the pond in the morning after which they cautioned all other villagers not enter inside the pond and keep an eye on the movement of the crocodile inside the pond.

It is believed that the Crocodile somehow reached the pond from a nearby nallah, which is infested by crocodiles, since ages.

A team of Forest under the overall supervision of Divisional Forest Officer, Wandoor Range on information reached the spot in the evening and caught the Crocodile.

It is learnt that the Crocodile was further taken to the Wandoor Wildlife Sanctuary.

Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, Jan 07: Despite having the only heart care centre of islands the road to Chakraborty Multi Speciality Hospital is full of potholes and nonexistent drain and is in worst condition since three years. Persistent request by Dr. Sudip Chakraborty to panchayat samiti and ward councilors haven’t yielded any result till date.
The Heart Care Centre that it houses, has saved more than five hundreds lives including five Indian tourist from Kolkata, Delhi and Chandigarh. They received emergency Pacemaker and Primary Angioplasty. Even a national newspaper of repute ”Bartman” from Kolkata was effusive in praise about the hospital. They were surprised to see the Heart Care Centre in a small Union Territory like A&N Islands when other states of India like same north eastern states did not have it despite their population much higher than the islands.
Its time along with tourism, hospital tourism should be encouraged and all the hospital asks is a decent road, which apparently is falling in deaf ears.

Amit Halder
Port Blair, Jan 07: A moped today hit a bus of State Transport Service at Sippighat area, resulting in the injuries of the moped rider.
According to eye witnesses the accident took place at around 8.50 am this morning, when the moped rider, Deepak Roy, was going towards Lal Pahar, Chouldari from Bazaar area. According to report the Bus was coming from Habdipur and at the slope infront of Seva Niketan the moped hit the Bus, while overtaking another vehicle.
The Moped rider, whose left arm was fractured, was shifted to nearby Hospital immediately. He also suffered minor head injuries. The Moped suffered heavy damages.

K Muralidhran Pillai
Port Blair, Jan 06: The battered road stretch leading to Karmatang beach, a prominent tourist site in North Andaman, stands proof of how remote pockets of these islands are kept out of the developmental plans of the administration.
The tattered road stretch and plight of people negotiating the surface appeared in the local media particularly Andaman Sheekha in more than a couple of occasions. But the concerned authorities have failed to repair the road for the benefit of hundreds of tourists and locals of the area.
According to reports, the concerned authorities carried out some patch works ahead of the visit of the Chief Secretary of the Administration to the North and Middle Andaman region.
But the patch-ups, loose earth filled on the craters, apparently to impress the Chief Secretary, washed away in the very next rain showers leaving locals in a tight spot. “It seems that the local authorities care two hoots of the instructions of the Chief Secretary, who promised development of the area during his visit.
Authorities like the ZIlla Parishad, NACD Mayabunder, PRIs, show huge amounts expended on maintenance of roads every year, but a drive on the pothole laden road surface at Karmatang will reveal complete apathy of the authorities towards progress of the area. Driving on the road surface at Karmatang requires superhuman skills.
Authorities concerned are least bothered about fixing many gaping craters that dot the surface to make it safe for motorists. On the New Year eve, many locals, who wished to celebrate the occasion, at the beach had to return back home for fear of accidents and damage to vehicles at the road stretch,” said some Mayabunder residents.
“Besides the pathetic condition of the road, cleanliness at the Karmatang beach has taken a beating in the recent months. The beach is littered with empty bottles and non-biodegradable wastes.
Though the Forest Department has placed Dustbins at the beach, lack of regular garbage disposal forces visitors to discard wastes in open areas. Moreover, a Watchman, atleast on daily rated basis, should be posted at the beach for ensuing proper watch of the tourist destination,” say some others.

Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, Jan 06: The Doordarshan Kendra Port Blair today organised a special programme ‘Khas Mulaqut’ with Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In this first of its kind show produced by Doordarshan Kendra Port Blair, the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lt. Gen (Retd.) A K Singh interacted with people from various sections of local society and shared his vision for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
During the programme he took questions from public and presented his point of views and the Administration’s stand on those issues. Dr. Francis Xavier, Principal, JNRM, anchored the show.
Answering to a question on centre of gravity of Andamans, the Lt. Governor said that whenever someone gets a task it is important to find out the centre of gravity of the task before going for it.
He said that with time he has realized that instead of having one centre of gravity it was necessary to redefine the centre of gravity of these Islands and slowly he realized that these Islands have multiple centre of gravities.
“As per me there are four centre of gravities in these Islands. The first centre of gravity of these Islands is the strategic nature of Island and the security requirements, second is the people of these Islands, third is the original tribals of these Islands and fourth is the ecology,” the Lt. Governor said.
He said that there should be a harmony between all these centre of gravities for the development of these Islands. “Under some circumstances, importance of one or other centre of gravity may increase,” he added.
Regarding illegal immigrants the Lt. Governor said that Illegal immigration is one of the threat factors. He said that this matter was raised prominently in LG advisory council meeting also in past. “There is a perception in these Islands that there are large number of illegal immigrants,” he said. He said policy of government is to take action as per law whenever an illegal immigrant is found.
On illegal immigrant issue of North Andaman, he said some people had raised voice that common public are being harassed in name of illegal immigrants but he made it clear that administration has no intension to harass any public.
He said that to counter illegal immigration we have good surveillance around these Islands by Coast Guard and the immigration unit has been asked to keep a watch in sea as well as airports.
Regarding Telecom he said that getting bandwidths are interim measures and the proper solution will be undersea cable from Chennai, for which he said DPR has been made and FSC has to be done. He said that entire process of laying submarine cable has now been divided into two parts first is installation and second is operation and maintenance. “For laying cable government will pay and for the second part the government of India will give us fund,” he said.
He said that within next 2 to 2.5 years the submarine cable will be laid. “I think we are looking at win win situation in Andaman. Once submarine cable reaches these Islands, Andaman will be ready to take off,” the Lt. Governor said.
He urged colleges to start some foreign language classes for Andaman Students so that for BPO and Call Centers of future they are ready.
Regarding tourism he there are many fields, we need to move forward. “For promotion of tourism we will encourage every level of tourism. High level tourism is preferable but if there is only high level tourism our people will not get much job but if we promote middle level tourism there will be many jobs. We need to develop infrastructure and we need to focus away from Neil, Havelock and Port Blair,” he said.
Appreciating the beauty of Lalaji Bay and Mark Bay he said that within 10 days he will get project report about mission Long Island, so that Long Islands can be promoted for tourism. “We need to create infrastructure we need to connect Havelock with Long Island,” he said.
He praised the issue raised by Mr. Naresh Chander Lal, a renowned film maker, and asked the Art and Culture Secretary, INTAC and Heritage committee to work towards documentation of local artists and their contributions in the field of art and culture.
In Education sector he said that After ANCOL, Medical College, Community College, his next vision is to bring in professional colleges and the Education Department has recommended following stream which are Management, IT, Microbiology and Law. “We got in principal approval for this,” he said.
In aviation sector he expressed deep concerns about high airfare and said that Administration is taking all possible steps to curb high airfare. He asked the civil aviation secretary to ensure that the Chartered Flight for Kolkata starts soon.
Regarding minor violation of building bye laws, he asked the UD Secretary to prepare a draft and give it to the Chairperson of PBMC and go ahead for one time relaxation (Compoundable).
Expresses serious concerns about corruption he said that I have given full hand to Anti-Corruption Department. He said that there are many more trap cases which have been planned and “when the cases will come up you will be shocked.” He said that Society has to rebel against corruption. He urged people not to give bribe to any one and report about corruption to authorities so that corrupt officials could be taken to task.

Port Blair, Jan 6: The much awaited Island Tourism Festival 2016 will begin on Jan 8, 2016 with its formal inauguration by the Lt. Governor, A & N Islands at 6 pm. at ITF Ground. The Member of Parliament, Mr Bishnu Pada Ray will be the guest of honour. This year, the festival will be held from Jan 8-18, 2016. Various competitions such as Healthy Baby show on Jan 12, Flower show on Jan 13 and Dog show on Jan 16 will be held besides added attractions like food courts, fun games, handicrafts, etc.
The performance of the cultural troupes from mainland (East Zone Cultural Centre / South Zone Cultural Centre) will help islanders renew their cultural ties with mainland India. The cultural troupes from mainland as well as local will also perform in outer Islands – North & Middle Andaman as well as in Nicobar groups of Islands apart from South Andaman. This year the ‘Carnic’ festival will be organized from Jan 8-10 at Car Nicobar during the ITF.
The Tourism Department is also arranging programme of celebrity artists in which noted playback singers and TV fame artists will perform. On Jan 9, TV fame artist Amit Sana and his group will perform at Netaji Stadium. Noted playback singer, Mr Amit Kumar with his team will perform alongwith Comedian Mr Pratap Fauzdar at Netaji Stadium on Jan 17. Both the shows will be open for public and there will be no entry fee.
Two bands of artists from mainland will also perform during the festival. One Band of Artists will perform at North & Middle Andaman and another Band of artist will perform at Nicobar Group of Islands. The schedule for North & Middle Andaman will be at Rangat on Jan 13, Mayabunder on Jan 14, Diglipur on Jan 15 whereas the second Band group will perform at Hut Bay on Jan 8, Car Nicobar on Jan 9, Campbell Bay on Jan 11 and Kamorta on Jan 12. The Band will also perform at Wimberlygunj on Jan 9 and at Wandoor on Jan 11 apart from ITF ground on Jan 10.

Special Report
Port Blair, Jan 05: Martyr Lieutenant Colonel Elambulassery Kalarikkal Niranjan, who died in the terrorist attack at IAF base at Pathankot on Sunday, was laid to rest at his ancestral house in Kerala on Tuesday. Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s bomb detection squad, died while defusing an explosive from a terrorist’s body on Sunday.
When the entire nation is mourning death of NSG martyr Lt Col Niranjan Kumar, people in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, who had got a chance to work with him, are deeply shocked.
Lt. Col. Kumar, a bomb disposal expert had come to Andaman in June first week of 2015 with three other colleagues after the Brookshabad Blast incident, in which two people had died.
According to details Lt. Col. Kumar and his team had played a major role in post blast investigation of Brookshabad. He had collected samples from the blast site and had helped police to reach to a logical conclusion.
To confirm the fact when Andaman Sheekha team contacted Mr. B Saigal, the SDPO of Havelock, who was holding additional charge of Dy.S.P South Andaman, he confirmed that Lt Col Niranjan Kumar is the same officer, who came to Andaman on the request of Police Department for post blast investigation.
“Police personnel who saw him and worked with him are deeply shocked to see his photographs in National News. His mobile phone is constantly switched off. My deepest condolences for Martyr Lt Col Niranjan Kumar. This is a great loss to the nation,” Mr. Saigal added.
Other police Jawans and officers, who worked with him for those few days, have shared his photos in Social Media and expressed their condolence.
Andaman Sheekha team extends deepest condolences on the death of Lt Col Niranjan Kumar and other jawans of defence forces, in terrorist attack at IAF base at Pathankot.

Port Blair, Jan 05: The Lt. Governor, Lt Gen A K Singh (Retd), visited Long Island on 04.01.2016 and reviewed the progress of development works assigned to various Departments. The PCCF, Shri Omkar Singh, Secretary (GA), Shri Rakesh Bali and APCCF (P&D), Shri D.M. Shukla accompanied the Lt. Governor.
During the visit, the Lt. Governor inaugurated the eco-friendly tented accommodation “Eco-Surmai Reef”, constructed by the Forest Department set up for visitors and tourists.
These six tented accommodation will be made available for the tourists. Apart from this, the Forest Rest House has also been refurbished. The Lt. Governor directed that the construction of remaining tented accommodation be done immediately and a wide publicity given, so that visitors could avail the facilities.
The Lt. Governor also interacted with the PRI members and the local people. The Pradhan and other PRI members appreciated the coordinated efforts made by various Departments in achieving the targets set by the Lt Governor, despite all logistic constraints.
The Lt Governor directed the Deputy Commissioner to look into the issues raised by PRI members and resolve them expeditiously in consultation with the stakeholders for the well being of the people of Long Island. It is a matter of satisfaction that all the issues raised by the people & PRIs during the LG’s visit in November 2013 have been completed/are in progress when deadlines have been fixed. This is a good example of ‘Good Governance’ as per the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister.
The Lt Governor also advised the Pradhan and PRI members to form a Self Help Group and go in for procurement of small boats to be operated between Yerrata, Long Island and Merk Bay. This could help in generating income and also provide gainful employment to the local people.
The Lt. Governor assured that the Administration shall extend all possible help in creating tourism infrastructure in Long Island. The Administration will also help in arranging financial assistance through the Financial Institutions, including Banks for making investment in promotion of eco-tourism.
He also suggested encouraging local people to keep bicycles and give them out on rent to the tourists intending to travel from Long Island to Lalaji Bay. He stated that option of operating of E-Rickshaws can also be explored. These options, besides being eco friendly, will generate substantial income to the local people.

The Lt Governor also visited Merk Bay and Lalaji Bay along with other officers, riding bicycles in order to promote an eco friendly mode of transport in Long Island. He has asked the Deputy Commissioner to send a project report on “Mission Long Island” within two weeks to develop appropriate tourism infrastructure and facilities in Long Island.