Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, June 08: The passengers of Mainland vessel MV Swaraj Dweep, who travelled from Vizag to Port Blair, refused to disembark from the ship today, in protest of the suffering, they had to undergo, during the present journey, due to alleged pathetic condition of the ship.
According to reports, the main reason behind the protest was delay in the sailing of the ship from Vizag and the problems faced by the passengers to purchase the ship tickets, due to alleged black marketing of ship tickets in Vizag.
As per the reports, the embarkation time of the passengers was 6 pm from Vizag but due to some faults in the ship, the passengers were made to wait for the whole night at the Vizag Jetty. “Nearly 12 hours we were in the Vizag jetty with children, if there was a change of schedule the department should have informed us,” said an angry passenger of the ship.
Not only this many passengers alleged that Air-Condition was not working in the ship and the quality of food was of very low grade.
Taking the matter seriously, the Director of Shipping Services came to the spot and requested the passengers to disembark and register their complaints in written.
However talking to Andaman Sheekha, the Councillor of Telugu Desam Party Mr Azizur Rehman said that the ship MV Swarajdweep has recently come from Annual Passenger Ship Survey and the shipping department has spent crore for APS but still the condition of the ship is pathetic.
He further said that the Party will now take up the matter in the Ministry and will demand an inquiry.
Meanwhile, the Director met with public and canteen people in the evening in his chamber but the details about the meeting was not shared with media.
The protest later ended at around 1 pm today.

Port Blair, May 14: The Adhyaksha, Zilla Parishad, South Andaman, Miss V.K. Mariyam Bibi today said that development of remote Shoal Bay area is a priority for the Zilla Parishad and PRI members are committed for this.
After inaugurating the newly constructed Mini Stadium at Shoal Bay, No.12, South Andaman this afternoon. Miss Mariyam Bibi said that the Lt. Governor had visited the area nearly one year back and during his visit the Lt. Governor had stressed on the development of the area as the area is cut off and remains largely disconnected from Port Blair due to absence of connectivity.
She said that project was completed because of the efforts of Panchayat Samity and Gram Panchayat also. She added that the Mini Stadium was a long pending demand of the public of Shoal Bay. She also lauded the technical wind of Zilla Parishad for constructing the attractive stadium.
The Secretary (Industries) & CEO, Zilla Parishad, SA, Smt. Rashmi Krishnan, Zilla Parishad Member, Mannarghat Constituency, Shri Deva Kumar, Pramukh, Panchayat Samiti, Ferrargunj, Shri Mohammed Safique and Pradhan, Gram Panchayat, Shoal Bay, Shri A.R. Kumar were present during the inaugural ceremony.

Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, May 12: Enduring with their male counterparts, lady two-wheeler commuters are having a harrowing time commuting on vehicle ferries in the Chatham-Bambooflat sector.
Several female employees in various government and private institutions travel for work on their two-wheelers from remote pockets Bambooflat, Wimberlygunj and adjoining areas. But the mad rush on the vehicle ferries particularly during office hours has left female workers exasperated.
“We’ve to literally compete with males to board the vehicle ferries. Owing to heavy rush, many of us fail to avail the ferry on time and land up late in office. As vehicles are allowed to board on the basis of first come basis, altercations with males has become a routine at the jetties on the either side. We urge the authorities to intervene and resolve the issue in the interest of the female employees,” said a female commuter at Chatham.
According to reports, the matter has been referred to the Superintendent of Police, South Andaman, who has reportedly asked the ALHW and PMB to alter the Halley gate to facilitate movement of female commuters. Pained over the daily trouble, the female employees from Bambooflat and adjoining areas are hoping for an early resolution to the issue.

Diglipur, May 10: The Lt Governor, Lt. Gen A K Singh (Retd), has said that the progress and prosperity of the farmers will lead to prosperity for the nation and it is, therefore, the duty of the Government to look into their welfare, and solve their problems. The Lt Governor was addressing as the chief guest of the Kisan Gosthi, held in the multipurpose hall here today. The Lt Governor inaugurated the meet by lighting the ritual oil lamp. He said that the meet is a reflection of the commitment of our Central Govt and the UT Administration towards our farmers.
He said that Diglipur is the crown of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Administration is committed to fulfill the requirements of the farmers of the Islands with the support of Govt. of India. The purpose for his frequent visit to Diglipur is to take first hand information on the problems and issues facing the farmers, he said. There are certain minor issues which can be solved at the district level and the District Administration alongwith the concerned Departments must solve those problems, he said.
Referring to various issues raised by the farmers of the area, such as cold storage, irrigation & marketing facilities etc. the Lt. Governor directed the District Administration and PRIs to find solution to these problems on immediate basis. The Lt. Governor directed the Secretary (Agri.) to convene meetings of farmers every three months, from all three districts, to listen to their grievances and to resolve the problems on fast track.
The Lt. Governor informed that in the event of damage to crops during natural calamity, the Deputy Commissioners have been authorized to pay compensation to farmers in one months time. He said that ANIIDCO is procuring milk products from farmers of Diglipur which are brought to Port Blair for sale. He directed the Shipping Department to deploy cargo ships to Diglipur to bring the surplus vegetables so that the same can be sold at Port Blair.
The Lt. Governor also mentioned about the rapid progress made by the Administration during last one year under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Opening of a medical college by July this year, introduction of chartered flights between Delhi-Port Blair-Car Nicobar, Chennai Port Blair, Port Blair-Vizag-Delhi are some of the major achievements of the Administration during the last one year, he said. He further said that to augment the shipping sector, chartering of ships is being considered. Orders for new ships have already been placed with the shipyards and the private parties will also be encouraged to operate their ships, by way of providing incentives to them, he observed. The Lt. Governor also briefed about the three schemes launched by the Prime Minister of India yesterday, which are very beneficial for the farmers and people working in unorganised sector. He said that the schemes were meant to benefit the poor section of the society and urged the people to avail maximum benefits of the scheme. He also mentioned that the Minister of State for Agriculture, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, who is on a visit to the islands has assured of all support.
Speaking on the occasion, the Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray requested the Lt. Governor and the Administration to set up mechanism for immediate payment of compensation to the farmers as and when natural calamities occur. He also informed about the insurance and pension schemes launched by the Prime Minister yesterday which, he said, will be beneficial to the people of the country and as well as the islanders. He also covered various other issues of the farming community of N&M Andamans.
The President BJP State Unit, Shri Vishal Jolly lauded the commitment of the Administration in the welfare of the farmers. He expressed the hope that the decisions taken during the farmers meet will be implemented in true spirit for welfare of the farmers. He said that as BJP President of the Islands he has a special concern for our hardworking Farming Community and will continue to provide them support. He also gave many useful suggestions for the benefit of the farmers.
The Chief Secretary, Shri Anand Prakash while addressing the gathering requested the farmers to avail maximum benefits from the various welfare schemes implemented by the Agriculture Department for the welfare of the farming community in the Islands.
The Adhyaksh, Zilla Parishad, (N&M), Shri K. Srinivasan thanked the Lt Governor for organising the farmers meet and requested that the welfare of the farmers regarding fixing of rate of agriculture products for the benefit of the farmers should be done on priority.
A presentation on the Agriculture polices and present status was made by the Secretary (Agriculture), Smti R Menaka. In her brief speech she said that the Administration has taken up a number of projects for the welfare and progress of farmer’s community. Six farmers from Diglipur area shared their experiences on the occasion.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner (N & M Andaman), Shri A G Krishnan welcomed the gathering while the farmers meet concludes with the vote of thanks proposed by the Joint Director (Agri), (N&MA). The meet was also attended by Smt Rupa Ray and Shri Sripad Deshpande, apart from Secretary (RD) and Secretary to LG.

Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, May 08: The salaries of the teachers working under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan will be hiked to Rs 9000 and teachers teaching in hard areas will get hard area allowance of Rs 3000 soon.
In a press conference held at the Conference hall of Secretariat today at 4:30 pm, the Secretary Education, Mr Devinder Singh Nedger said that the teachers of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan who were getting a salary of Rs 18000 will start getting a salary of Rs 27000 soon for which the department is just waiting for an approval.
During the press conference the Secretary Education briefed about the objectives of the department and said that the department’s aim is to achieve 100% enrolment of school going age population and zero drop out of school going age population which is in few words the motto of the department and to improve overall literacy from 86.60% to 100%, Mr Nedger said.
“National figures of girl child school going population was 76% and in coming three years the government will try to improve it to 79% but I am very happy to say that in Andaman the school going age girl percentage is 97% and we will try our best to take it forward to 100%,” Mr Nedger said.
The Department has 330 government schools 115 other schools in which maximum are private, some are local body run etc.
“86460 students were enrolled last year in the islands, the department has a teaching staff of 5574 and 903 is our non teaching staffs therefore total 6477 plus few part timers and therefore education department is also one of the biggest employers,” Mr Nedger added.
The Centrally sponsored schemes of MHRD indirectly is very successful in the Andamans as from class 1-8 students are provided with cooked mid day meal and the specialty here is twice a week the children are given boiled eggs and 155 grams of banana which is over and above the mandate of scheme and this is done utilizing the UT budget, Mr Nedger further added.
Hostel stipend to hosteliers currently being provided @ Rs 1000/- per month is proposed to be enhanced to Rs 1500/-. Scholarships for higher studies in mainland, financial assistance to ST candidates studying in mainland (School/Higher education), free textbooks, notebooks, stationery etc, free uniforms, attendance scholarship, Post Matric Scholarship are among other incentives provided to school students, he said.
Highlighting some major achievements in the year 2014-15, the Secretary informed that construction of a new Boys Hostel at Port Blair has been completed and is set for inauguration soon. Besides, 26 additional classrooms have been constructed in various schools in various parts of these islands, 21 Toilet Blocks in various schools have been upgraded, 3 schools, GMS Pinaki Nagar (Middle to Secondary), GMS Kuitasuk, Chowra (Middle to Secondary) and GPS Laxmanpur (Primary to Middle) have been upgraded and English medium has been introduced in 10 schools in various parts of these islands.
Elaborating on the future roadmap, Mr Singh said that the administration plans to upgrade infrastructure in 46 Senior Secondary and 42 Secondary Schools in South, North and Middle and Nicobar Districts with smart classrooms and e-learning facilities, introduce vocational courses in schools, introduce Like Skill Programmes viz. Disaster Management, Scout and Guides, Yoga, Meditation, Self Defence, NCC etc, open a Sainik School and promote Information and Communication Technology system in schools and higher education.
In the Higher Education sector, plans are afoot to establish a Central University which will act as a centre of excellence and research in higher education, set up a National Institute of Technology for the islands, expansion of existing colleges and introduction of new courses and increase in intake of existing courses and establishment of a Community College in Ferrargunj.
Lauding the sports fraternity for bringing laurels to the islands in various national and international events, Mr Singh reiterated his commitment to provide better infrastructure for budding sports talents. As part of expansion of infrastructure, construction of Mini Stadium at Junglighat and Haddo, development of Laltha Singh Ground, Haddo and Multipurpose Hall at Kanyapuram are currently in progress. Besides derecognizing nine defunct sports associations, the A & N State Sports Council has also been reconstituted with the Chief Secretary elected as President and the Director General of Police as Vice President, he informed.

Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, May 07: Residents of various Islands today staged protest infront of Raj Niwas after they were denied ship tickets for continuous two sailings.
According to reports, the residents of inter islands were waiting since yesterday night near the DSS ticketing counter so that they get tickets today morning without any trouble but to their utter dismay within half an hour of opening the ticketing counters all the tickets of MV Campbell Bay’s 9th May sailing, were finished.
Angry people alleged that only a few dozen of people got the tickets in all the seven counters and rest tickets were sold from backdoor. Some of the residents also alleged that as there is a high profile marriage at Kamorta and all the tickets were issued from back door for the guests of marriage party.
Angry public marched upto Raj Niwas and demanded a reply from Authorities. They also demanded tickets in the coming sailing.
However after their protest infront of Raj Niwas, a team of police took all the protesters in a bus to Directorate of Shipping Services to meet the Director, where all of them were assured that they will get the ticket of MV Kalighat which will sail on 11th of May from Port Blair to Nicobar Group of Islands.

Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, May 06: Repeated appeals from the Traffic Police notwithstanding, chaotic and obstructive roadside parking of vehicles has forced the law enforcing agency to embark on a massive drive to book the violators. Speaking exclusively to Andaman Sheekha,, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Mr M Umar said that despite best efforts of the Traffic Police, the general public has learnt no lessons and obstructive parking continues unabated in the city.
The Traffic Department conducted a series of campaigns recently like Nukkad Natak, street corner meetings, Public Announcements in areas like Mazar Pahad, MA Road, Phoenix Bay, Round Basti, Junglighat and various other places in an around the municipal areas to sensitize people about the hazards of obstructive parking. But there has been hardly any effect on the public and the menace of obstructive parking continues particularly by yellow board vehicles, the Traffic Dy.SP said.
The PWD and Municipal Council have constructed many parking lots in and around the city, but people abstain from utilising the facility. Disruptive parking becomes a major hazard particularly during fire accidents. “We appeal to the motorists, particularly public transport vehicles to refrain from obstructive parking, failing which, we will be compelled to launch a special crackdown on such violators,” added Mr Umar.

Port Blair, May 05: A patient with cancer of Gall bladder leading to severe jaundice due to bile duct obstruction got relieved by a novel approach by Interventional radiologist Dr. Kranti Rathod at Chakraborty Multi Specialty Hospital. For the first time such procedure has been done in these Islands. Procedures involving common bile duct are usually not done in the Islands, due to lack of technical expertise and infrastructure. However, henceforth patient need not go to mainland as PBDS (Percutanous Biliary Drainage & Biliary Stenting) could be done here which needs only local anesthesia without involving a stitch, under fluoroscopic & Digital Substraction Angiography Guidance.

Similarly, two other patients had also undergone bronchial artery embolisation for blood in cough & Splenic artery coiling for massive splenomegaly on the same day, a communication from Dr. S. Chakraborty said here today.

Port Blair, May 03: Leading a life of righteousness should be motto of every individual, said the Lt. Governor, Lt. Gen A.K. Singh (Retd). He said this while inaugurating the week long ‘Gyana Yagna’ (spiritual discourse), organised by Chinmaya Mission, Port Blair at its auditorium here this evening. Earlier, the Lt. Governor hoisted the flag of the Mission and also lit the ritual oil lamp to mark the inauguration of the discourse which is being conducted as part of the birth centenary celebration of Swami Chinmayanandaji.

“One must also ponder over the purpose of one’s life in this world”, he said while addressing a gathering of devotees and delegates, from these Islands as well as from different parts of the country. Quoting from Bhagwat Geeta, the Lt. Governor stated that it is one of the most wonderful discourses in the world. “Geeta teaches us to perform our duty in an earnest manner without thinking about its fruits”, he said. “India has been a world leader and under the dynamic leadership of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, our country will continue to show the world the path to success, especially through its moral strength”, said the Lt. Governor.

The Lt. Governor also mentioned that the A&N Administration will continue to take decisions for the betterment of the people of the Islands. He appealed to the visiting delegates to become the Ambassadors of these picturesque Islands as they return to their respective States. “These Islands are, and will continue to grow in importance and are a spring board for India’s engagement with the Asia-Pacific”, the Lt. Governor informed the visiting delegates.

Expressing his happiness over the harmonious blend of people in these Islands, the Lt. Governor mentioned that people from different parts of our country, having different linguistic and cultural background are settled in these Islands and live in perfect harmony, making the Islands a ‘Mini India’ in true sense.

The Lt. Governor presented a copy of ‘The Difficulty of Being Good’, an analysis of Mahabharta, written by Gurucharan Das to Swami Shuddhanandaji, the Resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission here. Shri Hari Narayan Arora presented a copy of Bhagwat Geeta to the Lt. Governor on the occasion.

Earlier, the President of the Chinmaya Mission, Port Blair, Shri Surendra Prahladka welcomed the Lt. Governor and the gathering and highlighted the activities of the Chinmaya Mission, Port Blair. The Organising Secretary of the Mission, Shri Subbaraj informed the gathering about the establishment of Chinmaya Mission and its social and spiritual activities.

The inaugural ceremony concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Shri Manohar Singh, President, Chinmaya Vanprastha Sansthan.