Nishar Mohammed & Vikramaditya
Port Blair, Jan 03: A government guest house located in Betapur under Shivapuram Panchayat, constructed by the Andaman Public Work Department (APWD) in 2018, has yet to be inaugurated and opened for public use despite six years having passed since its completion.
The guest house, which was built at a heavy cost, seems to have been overlooked by the department, leaving citizens frustrated with what they perceive as a blatant misuse of taxpayers’ money.
Residents of Betapur place blame on the APWD, asserting that the guest house has not hosted a single guest in the six years since its completion. The primary reason cited for its non-utilization is the lack of an approach road to the facility.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha the Pradhan of Shivapuram Panchayat Mr. Venkateshwar Rao said that the APWD guest house in Betapur is situated in front of land owned by the Health Department, where a Health & Wellness Centre is proposed for construction. However, the Health Department has reportedly not issued the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC), further delaying the operationalization of the guest house.
He said that the Shivapuram Gram Panchayat has many famous tourist spots viz Dhanni Nallah, Panchawati Eco-Tourism Park, Govt. Saw Mill (Souvenir shop) and Moricedera but tourists are unable to visit these places due to non-availability of proper accommodation.
He demanded that the Guest House should be allotted to this Gram Panchayat Shivapuram for its maintenance and allotment of the rooms to the visitors for generating revenue of the Gram Panchayat.
It seems that as most of the officers of Andaman and Nicobar Administration are based in Port Blair, serious issues like this from remote Islands hardly matters to them. Not inaugurating a guest house for such a long time is a gross waste of taxpayers’ money and an inquiry must be ordered in this regard.