Vikramaditya
Port Blair, May 26: Several New Pahargaon residents are now facing a new problem at the Shiv Temple Raod, which was closed by authorities several months back due to land sliding infront of Sapna Theatre.
According to reports due to heavy rain the other side of the Shiv Temple road is now getting totally submerged under flood waters. Already one side of the road near Sapna theatre is totally blocked since several months and now the other side is also getting blocked due to flooding, leaving people of the area totally isolated.
“It is so risky to drive on the road which is flooded with water. One can’t make out where drain is and where is the road. This could cause and accident at any point of time. We are totally isolated in our area during rain,” said a resident of the area.
Careless earth removing works had caused a major land sliding in the area, damaged a major portion of road and a Temple. Fresh cracks have now developed on the Sapna Theater Junction, which shows that in case of heavy rain there could be another major land sliding in the area. If that happens the lone road connecting New Pahargaon village will be totally gone.
The Administration must form a special team to save the road or there could be a major accident tomorrow.

Port Blair, May 25: Financial obstacles cannot stop you from fulfilling your dreams, as Goutami Roy, the daughter of a widow, proved when she secured the first rank in the All India Senior School Certificate Examinations 2016 (CBSE Class XII) (Arts Stream) in these islands.
While the local media is gripped with headline stories about the achievers of the science stream students this year, little is known about Goutami Roy, student of Rabindra Bangla Vidyalaya, who 92.60 percent to top the examinations in the Arts stream this year.
Goutami Roy was just 21 days old when she lost her father. With no other option, her mother Sushma Roy began working as a domestic help for livelihood as also to support her daughter’s education. But Goutami, who aced the CBSE exams and attributes her success to her mother, now faces a tough challenge in continuing higher studies owing to financial crunch.
“We’ve have been facing financial crisis ever since the demise of my father and continued studies with the petty earnings that my mother generated working as a maid in other households. But it never proved a deterrent as my mother also asked me to remain focused in studies. After years of hard work, I was able to top the islands in the CBSE exams in the Arts stream. I want to pursue higher studies in Law and become an Advocate. But due to the current financial position of my family, it appears to be a difficult dream to chase,” said Goutami speaking to Andaman Sheekha.
Speaking to Andaman Sheekha, Sushma Roy pleaded the administration to grant some financial assistance to her daughter to pursue higher education in Law. “I’ve slogged all the years since the demise of my husband to support the education of my daughter. But now it would be practically impossible for me to get her admitted in a Law College in mainland. Such assistance, if granted, will go a long way in motivating students from poor financial backgrounds to excel in their academics,” she said.

Port Blair, May 24: The Ministry of Urban Development Govt of India has declared Port Blair city selected amongst the list of the 23 cities under Fast Track Smart City Challenge. Hon’ble Lt. Governor had congratulated the citizens of the city on being successful. He has further congratulated the Mission Directorate, A&N Administration, PBMC and other line departments in giving shape to the Smart City Proposal of the Port Blair City. Lt. Governor has also expressed his gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Union Minister of Urban development for their vision, leadership and guidance.
Port Blair city had participated in Smart City challenge under fast track city in which 23 cities had taken part from all over the country. Accordingly, the Smart City Proposal of the city was revised to be inline with the demands and desires of the citizens. Need assessment survey of the citizens through Micro Planning Framework was conducted by PBMC to assess the genuine aspirations of the public. The projects were framed under smart city proposal ensuring that the issues raised by the people are addressed in a “SMART” way. Further the detailed proposal with respective project scope, finances and execution strategy was worked out in consultation with various departments of the administration. The finalised proposal was submitted to the Ministry on 21st May 2016. After rigorous evaluation the proposal was announced successful.
Ministry will be extending financial support to Port Blair city for execution of various projects proposed under the smart city. This will be further matched with the funds from some centrally sponsored schemes and PBMC revenues.

Port Blair, May 23: The results of Senior School Certificate Examination 2016 (Class-XII) have been announced on 21st May, 2016.
Though results are officially awaited from the CBSE, as per the results downloaded from the website of CBSE, out of 4749 students who appeared in Class-XII from the Govt. School/Govt. Aided and Un-Aided Schools in A & N Islands, 3400 students have passed and 1024 students have been placed in compartment. The overall pass percentage of A & N Islands stands at 71.59% as compared to 68.67% last year. The overall pass percentage of Administration schools stands at 67.01% as compared to 64.55% last year. The toppers’ list also shows that girls have outshined boys in this Exam.
05 toppers of Science, Commerce, Arts & Vocational streams of these islands are as under:-

SCIENCE STREAM
Sl. No. Position Name School Percentage
1. I SHERIN CARMEL SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR 96.40
2. II C M SHAHNAAZ CARMEL SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR 96.20
3. II ANKITA DEY CARMEL SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR 96.20
4. II PUSHPENDAR SINGH SANDU CARMEL SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR 96.20
5. III S SANDHYA VIVEKANANDA KENDRA VIDYALAYA, PORT BLAIR 95.80
6. IV NITIKA MONDAL CARMEL SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR 95.60
7. V L K NIDHI KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA-I, PORT BLAIR 95.40
COMMERCE STREAM
Sl. No. Posi-tion Name School Percentage
1. I MOHD SAHIL JNV PANCHAWATI, RANGAT 93.60
2. II VANSHIKA AGARWAL KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA-II, PORT BLAIR 93.20
3. III P NARESH GOVT. SR. SEC. SCHOOL, HADDO (TELUGU), PORT BLAIR 91.20
4. IV SUDEEPTA MONDAL KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA-II, PORT BLAIR 89.80
5. V R REWATHI GOVT. SR. SEC. SCHOOL, BHATHUBASTI 88.20
ARTS STREAM
Sl. No. Posi-tion Name School Percentage
1. I GOUTAMI ROY GOVT. RABINDRA BANGLA VIDYALAYA, PORT BLAIR 92.60
2. I RITWIKA MONDAL GOVT. MODEL SR. SEC. SCHOOL, MAYABUNDER 92.60
3. II S PAPA KUMARI GOVT. MODEL SR. SEC. SCHOOL, MAYABUNDER 92.20
4. III BINITA DAS GOVT. SR. SEC. SCHOOL, SUBHASGRAM, NORTH ANDAMAN 91.20
5. IV RASHMI SURESH NAVY CHILDREN SCHOOL, MINNIE BAY 91.00
6. IV SEEMA MAZUMDER GOVT. SR. SEC. SCHOOL, RANGAT 91.00
7. V SUMA SAHA GOVT. GIRLS SR. SEC. SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR 90.80

VOCATIONAL STREAM
Sl. No. Position Name School Percentage
1. I DAGNY BARLA GOVT. MODEL SR. SEC. SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR 89.60
2. II ASHISH RAM 87.40
3. III P LAVANYA 84.40
4. IV SURABHI MISTRY 81.40
5. V AKHIL MUKESH 81.20

The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration and Principal Secretary (Education), A&N Administration has congratulated the above students and their parents for the meritorious achievements.

DJ Venkatesh
Diglipur, May 22: Weird set of rules for transport of wooden furniture imposed by the Forest Division of Diglipur has infuriated hundreds of government employees posted in the North Andaman region.

While government officials placed on transfer elsewhere in this archipelago can transport their personal wooden furniture on producing bills at the Forest Check Posts, their counterparts in Diglipur have to go through a drawn out process; hand-written application, double verification and go-ahead which normally takes between 15-45 days.

According to reports, government employees posted in Diglipur region have to first apply to the Divisional Forest Officer of Diglipur to seek permission for transport of wooden furniture. The DFO then forwards the application to the concerned Ranger for inspection of the furniture items. After inspection by the Ranger, the Beat Officer of the division is again asked to authenticate the furniture items after which the DFO issues a transport order to the applicant. Such long-lasting process consumes significant time and government officials are forced to pay out more money for transport of the items.

In a communication to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest on May 11, 2015, the Member Secretary of a Central Empowered Committee, Mr MK Jiwrajka, said that an Apex Court directive does not prohibit transportation of furniture items, decorative items, handicrafts, doors and window made from sawn timber obtained from legal sources.

In 2005 the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Middle Andaman issued a circular to all Forest Rangers instructing them that government employees under transfer orders can transport furniture items by producing bills/receipts at the Forest Check Posts.

In case on non-availability of the bills/receipts, the government employees will have to seek permission for transportation after verification by the Range Officer, the circular said. On 21st March 2006, the Conservator of Forest, Chatham, in a letter to the DFO Rangat categorically said that no transit pass is required for transport of wooden furniture as they are finished products and not forest produce as per definition provided in the Forest Act.
Such sweeping directives notwithstanding, the Forest Division of Diglipur continues with the archaic rule causing harassment to the government employees.

A government employee is normally granted 10 days of joining time to report to the new place of posting. But for the strange rules of the Diglipur Forest Division, government employees proceeding on transfer from the region have to travel twice expending money; first to join the new place of posting with household items and then to transport the wooden furniture. Because of the drawn-out procedures, it takes more than 15-20 days to obtain transport permission from the Forest Department and several government employees have faced harassment in the recent years. There have been widespread allegations of harassment by Forest officials at Kishorinagar and Chengappa Check Posts.

Truckers are not allowed to transport the furniture items without the permission letter issued by the Diglipur Forest Division. Such rules don’t exist in any other region of these islands except for the Diglipur division.

Today a truck with transfer load of a person was stopped at Kishorinagar check post in the name of verification and out of anger and frustration when the owner asked the forest staffs to seize the truck with furniture load, if law permits, all staffs did not do so and just waited for orders. The waiting continued till 10 am to afternoon.

When Andaman Sheekha called the Ranger Ashitosh Roy and asked the transportation rules then finally after 2.30 PM they gave permission to the truck to cross the check post.

“The Administration should take a strong note of the inconvenience being caused to the government officials posted in Diglipur and the Forest Department should be instructed to follow the directives of the Apex Court and other recommendations issued by the Forest Department from time to time,” said some government employees speaking to Andaman Sheekha on the condition of anonymity.

DJ Venkatesh & Sarthak Kanjilal

Port Blair, May 20: Over 1,100 passengers bound for Port Blair by a MV Swaraj Dweep have been stranded at Visakhapatnam Port for over 48 hours due to the cyclonic storm ‘Roanu’.

The ship MV MV Swaraj Dweep, was originally scheduled to leave on Wednesday. Due to cyclonic weather, the captain of the ship decided to set sail only after the cyclone crossed the coast.

“Though the decision to delay the departure was taken May 18, on the day it was supposed to leave, the passengers, most of them poor labourers from North Andhra and Odisha, were allowed to board the ship on humanitarian ground. They were provided drinking water and access to toilets. We have informed the SCI to make some arrangement for their food,” Visakhapatnam Port Deputy Chairman P.L. Haranadh told media.

The port authorities have also decided to allow the passengers to go out to make their own arrangement for food if they so wished. The canteen in the ship is being maintained by a private contractor.

The journey from here to Port Blair takes nearly two-and-a-half days.

The agents for the ship said their job was to provide port services for their client and they had already informed the Andaman Nicobar Islands Administration to make arrangement for food for the poor passengers. “We are awaiting their response,” he said. (with input from The Hindu)

Meanwhile talking to Andaman Sheekha, Mr. R Veeraiah, the Deputy Director of Shipping Services today said that the DSS has already directed the master to take the passengers on board as the situation was not that good because of the cyclone.

“Yesterday the port authorities visited the vessel at around 10pm to inspect the situation, where many issues were discussed. The master got some queries from the passengers for free food etc., which we have already started from the second half. Till the ship is at the port we will provide them the food free of cost. Providing free food till the vessel is arrived is not yet decided. The DSS is providing all support and the ship MV Nicobar is also safe and there is nothing to panic,” he said.

Ganesh Sarkar & Rakesh Sarkar
Hut Bay, May 18: A damaged and abandoned water tank at V K Pur village of Little Andaman is giving sleepless night to people living around the tank. The water tank was declared out of service several years back and is on the verge of falling off which might cause loss of life and property anytime.
The residents have expressed their concerns over the condition of the water tank.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, Ward Member of V K Pur Village, Ward No. 5, Smti. Suchitra Bala said that the tank is causing a grave danger to life of the residents of the area. She added that the tank could fall any moment and there is no guarantee of safety of people living around the discarded tank.
She added instead of demolishing the water tank the senior officials often visit the area and urge people not to construct house around the water tank.
“If we don’t construct house in our land where will be construct house? Why can’t APWD just demolish the tank? Children of the area play around the tank and if this tank comes down it may injure our children,” said a resident of the area. The Ward Member has requested the APWD to either repair the water tank or demolish it. When the Pradhan of the village was contacted over mobile for a comment he said that after lot of efforts senior officers of APWD had visited the site and assured him that the water tank will be demolished soon. Hope the tank will be demolished before it causes any injuries to anyone.

Vikramaditya

(Pic: KRK Raja Kumarr)

Port Blair, May 17: The announcement of the arrival of the monsoon season has triggered fresh fears for residents of New Pahargaon area, who dread landslides will wreak havoc in the region during torrential rains.

According to reports, the stretch of road from Sapna Threatre, which was closed for traffic after a series of landslides, have developed fresh cracks and residents fear the entire stretch has become vulnerable to landslides during a cloudburst. In case such a mishap hits the region, hundreds of residents of the region will be cut off from the mainstream and the alternate narrow road stretches will become a bane for the residents.

“Despite widespread allegations over tardy renovation works by the APWD in the local media, the lead construction agency has failed miserably to complete the works before monsoon. Fresh cracks have developed on the road at the Sapna Hall Junction and people fear that torrential rains will cause fresh landslides in the region. In all probability, the road will cave in during heavy rains and the motorway from INS Utkrosh will remain the only option for the residents here. Besides diversion of traffic through narrow road stretches will further amplify the risk of accidents and motorists will have a harrowing time,” say some residents of New Pahargaon.

In the month of January last year, a massive chunk of road in New Pahargaon caved in due to the careless earth extraction work leaving huge cracks on the road surface. While the airport authority did nothing to prevent the landslide and continued excavation of earth, another big landslide hit the same region about two months later. The Lt. Governor taking note of the issue asked the Secretary of Civil Aviation to take remedial measures. After inspection of the site, the then Secretary of Civil Aviation ordered temporary closure of the road and instructed the APWD to take necessary repair works.

The APWD executed for the repair works and reopened the road for normal traffic after about 7 seven days. However, the Airport Authority continued to the earth excavation work to fill up the marshy area near INS Utkrosh Office due to which the landslide further wreaked havoc in the region with more landslides. The APWD closed for road for repair works about 90 days ago. However, diversion of traffic through narrow road stretches in New Pahargaon and arrival of the monsoon season spells more trouble for the residents.

Port Blair, May 16: Putting an end to all the speculations regarding the construction of Kamsarat Nallah Dam, the Central Water Commission has now declared that the dam is safe in all respects.

In order to ensure proper water supply to the people living in Stewartgunj village and nearby areas, Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) has taken up construction of Kamsarat Nallah Dam Project.

However, during construction process, some people raised apprehension on the quality of construction of this earthen dam.

The Lt Governor immediately instructed APWD to ensure quality in construction of the dam and to conduct a technical audit on Kamsarat Nallah dam.

Accordingly, A&N Administration had entrusted the task to the Central Water Commission (CWC), New Delhi.

A team of Central Water Commission, New Delhi, inspected the dam from 4th to 9th April 2016, and has reported that the dam is safe in all respects. The Kamsarat Nallah Dam has full reservoir capacity of 231 Million Ltrs of water.

During the present dry spell the Kamsarat Nallah Dam has proved its worth as APWD had unofficially supplied nearly 30 Lakh ML of water daily to villages of South Andaman region.

DJ Venkatesh

Diglipur, May 12: The Deputy Commissioner, N & M Andaman today morning visited the fire affected area at 7 family, Desh Bandhu Gram of Diglipur.

Later speaking to Andaman Sheekha he said that the Trenches were made to cordon off the fire. Therefore property damage was also minimum. A collective coordinated effort of all the departments of disaster management committee was successful in controlling the fire.

“It is disturbing that many fire accidents not only in Diglipur but also in Mayabunder are being coming. Reports are coming that this is being done by some anti social elements. These are manmade fires, these should not happen. We have directed the police authorities to conduct inquiry and catch the culprits and proceed against them as per law,” the DC said adding “We also request PRI members and general public that any information regarding this man made fires should be brought to the police and revenue authorities immediately so that they can be punished as per law. Such incidents must not be repeated as these fires making lot of damage to the Eco system, Life and property. So we request and solicit the cooperation of the public.”

Massive Jungle Fires have been reported from several places of North & Middle Andaman in past one week, which has posed a serious challenge for Firemen of Andaman and Nicobar Fire Services.

It is a common practice in Andaman to put fire in wasteland to clear grasses, often encroachers put fire on big trees before cutting them. As Andaman and Nicobar Islands experiencing dry season such fire in revenue and forest land is often turning into big Jungle Fire.

According to details in last one week nearly half dozen such massive Jungle Fires have been witnessed in places like Billyground of Middle Andaman and Mayabunder as well as Diglipur areas of North Andaman.

On 11 May a massive Fire was reported from Deshbandhu Gram village of Diglipur.

About 15 hectare area has been reportedly destroyed in this fire. Out of this, more than 3 hectare area is presumed to be in revenue land while rest is reserve forest. The fire was later control after clearing all trees around the fire using excavators.