Archives for October 2024

Dolphins are highly intelligent and charismatic aquatic mammals found in both marine and freshwater habitats worldwide. These fascinating creatures play a vital role in maintaining marine ecosystems. However, today dolphin populations face severe threats from habitat destruction, pollution, overfishing and climate change.
Recognizing the importance of dolphin conservation in preserving ecological balance and its potential for boosting local economies through tourism, the Government of India has designated October 5th as ‘National Dolphin Day’.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are proud to join the nation in celebrating the 3rd ‘National Dolphin Day’ on October 5th, 2024. The Department of Environment and Forests has organized a series of programs involving diverse stakeholders aimed at promoting responsible practices and protection of dolphins and their habitats.
I call upon all residents of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to join this ambitious journey of environmental and biodiversity conservation. Together, let us pledge to safeguard our marine biodiversity with a special focus on conserving dolphins and their habitats.

Jai Hind!
Sd/-
(Admiral DK Joshi)
PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.)
Lt. Governor, A & N Islands
&
Vice- Chairman, Islands Development Agency

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 04: As part of the 80th Durga Puja celebrations, Atul Smrity Samity is organizing a special cultural attraction — a dance-drama performance of “Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen”. This classic tale, based on the story and illustrations by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and the iconic movie by Satyajit Ray, will be brought to life by a group of talented children at the Bengali Club Auditorium.
The performance will be directed, recreated, and choreographed by the skilled Smt. Sonali Podder, with assistance from Smt. Sujata Roy, Swapna Mandal, Sagarika Pradhan, and Shri Krishnendu Chakraborty and Sanjay Pradhan.
The event promises to captivate audiences with the timeless adventures of Goopy and Bagha through expressive dance and storytelling, making it a must-see for this year’s Durga Puja festivities.

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 04: As people become more aware about the methods used by cybercriminals, they are getting creative, developing new methods for fraud. Cybercriminals are perpetrating a new scam targeting many people to get OTPs (One Time Passwords) for making fraudulent bank transactions and getting access to the victims’ email addresses/ smart phones by manipulating them with Fake Delivery Parcel Scam. These scams are often carried out by people who work closely with delivery agents or delivery agencies. When they find out that a particular person receives a lot of packages from various e-commerce companies, then they plan to target him.
In this regard, Andaman and Nicobar Police issues the following advisory to safeguard yourself:
• Confirm your order history and the potential delivery dates before accepting / cancelling any package.
• Avoid clicking on any link received in an SMS when dealing with such package deliveries.
• Scrutinize all the URLs (links) before opening and filling in any information/OTP.
• Avoid sharing your personal details such as address, email id, phone number, etc. if not required.
• Avoid clicking on a link or calling back the number from an unexpected delivery notice via a SMS or email.
For assistance, information or enquiries, please contact: Cyber Crime Police Station, A&N Islands, over National helpline No.1930 and A&N Police Cyber Helpline No. 9531856083 or visit cybercrime.gov.in

Seva’ (SHS) campaign for 2024 with great enthusiasm and community engagement. The campaign, held from 17thSeptember to 2ndOctober 2024, embraced the theme ‘Swabhav Swachhata – Sanskaar Swachhata’, emphasizing the integration of cleanliness into individual behavior and cultural values. The campaign culminated in the observance of Swachh Bharat Diwas on 2nd October 2024, in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary and his vision for a cleaner India. During the two-week campaign, the KVK undertook a series of activities aimed at promoting cleanliness and environmental stewardship across the North and Middle Andaman districts. The event witnessed the active participation of KVK staff, school students, local communities, and government officials. The campaign commenced with a pledge taken by the KVK staff, reaffirming their commitment to maintaining cleanliness in their workplaces and communities. This was followed by a symbolic tree plantation initiative, ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’, to raise awareness about the importance of environmental conservation.
To motivate the younger generation, an essay writing and art competition was organized for students of Govindpur Govt. Secondary School and ZP-Vivekananda Kendriya Vidyalaya, Basantipur, allowing them to express their ideas and visions for a cleaner and greener India. A beach cleaning drive was organized at Karmatang to clean up litter and plastic waste. As part of outreach efforts, cleanliness drives were held at Subhashgram Panchayat, Diglipur, and Karmatang, Mayabunder. Additionally, a health camp was organized at Karmatang with assistance from the health department.
On 2ndOctober 2024, Swachh Bharat Diwas was celebrated to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s 155thbirth anniversary, his ideals of cleanliness and simplicity aligning perfectly with the principles of the SHS campaign. The event was graced by the Headmistress of Govt. Secondary School, Govindpur, and prizes were distributed for the essay and art competitions. In the essay writing competition, Satyajit Baul secured 1stplace, followed by Nisha Surin in 2ndand Ronit Halder in 3rd. Similarly, in the art competition, 1stprize was won by Nandini Sikder, with Proniti Bairagi and M. Meera taking 2ndand 3rdplaces, respectively.
The campaign was organized under the overall guidance of Dr. Eaknath B. Chakurkar, Director of ICAR-CIARI, Sri Vijayapuram. About 120 farmers and farm women, along with 56 school students, participated in the campaign.

 

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 04: The Prize Distribution ceremony of Hindi Fortnight-2024 was organized by the Department of Official Language of Andaman and Nicobar Administration today in the Auditorium of Tagore Government College of Education, Sri Vijaya Puram. Dr. Anil Agarwal, Secretary (Official Language), A&N Administration was the chief guest on the occasion. Shri Birendra Chaudhary, IFS, Deputy Forest Conservator (Working Plan Division), Department of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Smti Manjulata Rao, Principal, TGCE were the guests of honor.
Addressing the gathering, the Secretary (OL) said that the Government of India has kept these Islands in ‘A’ Region, therefore it is the responsibility of all Government employees to do 100% of their work in Hindi. Apart from this, he appealed to all Officers and staff to voluntarily adopt Hindi. He further said that it is very important that we have to acquire information about new technologies and adopt it in our day-to-day official work.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Birendra Chaudhary, said that although official work is being done in the official language Hindi in these Islands, there is scope to do 100% work in Hindi because the communication language of these Islands is Hindi. He requested all the officers and staff present in the function to contribute their best in doing 100% work in Hindi in their respective Offices.
At the outset, the Deputy Secretary (Official Language), Official Language Department, A&N Administration, Shri Rajendra Indawar welcomed the gathering and presented the detailed report regarding Hindi Pakhwada-2024.
On the occasion, Dr. Anil Agarwal, Shri Birendra Choudhary and Smti Manjulata Rao, gave away the prizes to the winners of various competitions organized during Hindi Pakhwada-2024.
Shri E.P. Zakiruddin, Senior Translation Officer, Official Language Department proposed vote of thanks. Apart from the officers and employees of Andaman and Nicobar Administration, students of Schools, Colleges, Teachers and Parents also participated in this programme.

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 04: The Directorate of Industries in collaboration with Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Science and Startups of the Islands hosted a vibrant Startup Seminar, attracting around 100 enthusiastic participants primarily from ANIIMS, Students of PG from Pondicherry University, Andaman Campus as well as JNRM, Sri Vijaya Puram.
The Health Tech Seminar was organized to highlight innovative approaches that can transform healthcare delivery. With a growing emphasis on nutrition. The event was conceptualized under the leadership of Director of Industries, Shri Abhishek Bhukal.
Shri Ajit Anand, Deputy Director, Industries Department while inaugurating the event, emphasized that “it’s the age of Startups” and encouraged the participants towards the health sector.
The context was further elaborated by Smti S. Sunitha Kumari , Assistant Director (Tech), who highlighted the details of the Technical Session. Dr. Amrita Burma, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, ANIIMS delivered elaborate session along with her team on Nutrition and its Importance, related diseases and lifestyle management. This was followed by a presentation by Startup M/s Aquatropics Pvt. Ltd. on Innovation in ‘Sea Diet’. Further, a brief talk was presented by NIOT (National Institute of Ocean Technology) and a session on Balanced Diet by Dr. Puja, Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
This event was an enriching experience for all attendees, fostering connections in health tech sector. The day was filled with insightful discussions aimed at enhancing healthcare and wellness.

 

Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct 04: It has been the continuous endeavor of Transport Department to improve the quality of Public Bus Transport being provided to the commuters. In one of the steps, the Transport Department augmented the quality of bus fleet in Shaheed Dweep sensing that overcrowding in the existing mini buses became a regular feature during school timings causing discomfort to school students and other commuters. Based on the request of PRIs and with the approval of Secretary (Transport) one long chassis bus was sent to Shaheed Dweep as only mini buses were plying in the Island. The first long chassis bus of Transport in Shaheed Dweep was flagged-off by Shri Vishwendra, Secretary (Transport) on Oct. 3, 2024 in a simple function. This milestone event is a significant step towards enhancing public transportation services in the region.
While flagging-off the bus, the Secretary (Transport) highlighted the critical role of the efficient Public Transport in addressing the transportation need of commuters particularly for school children, elderly and disabled. Under the guidance and direction of the Chief Secretary, the Department could procure 21 new buses, this year and then it was decided that the public bus transport in Shaheed Dweep would be augmented. He stated that the decision of allocating a new long chassis bus to Shaheed Dweep was taken specially to improve the travel comfort of school children as the existing mini buses do not have adequate capacity. “This new bus will significantly reduce congestion during peak hours, ensuring safer and more comfortable travel for our students,” he stated. “Commitment of the Department is to create a reliable, safe and efficient transportation system that caters to the needs of all citizens.” The new BS VI emission norms compliant bus wrapped with photo of beautiful spots of UT will also be significant in the transportation of tourists visiting this pristine island. He further urged the students to maintain the bus which is an important asset in its beautiful condition while using it. While addressing the grievances and suggestions presented by PRIs, Secretary (Transport) informed them about the progress made on these issues and also assured that all matters will be redressed in a time bound manner
The Assistant Commissioner of Swaraj Dweep, Shri Vikram Singh thanked the Transport Department for timely allocation of the new bus to meet the requirement of commuters. He also lauded the functioning of Transport Department in Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep not only for the scheduled bus operation but also for attending any unforeseen events promptly thereby helping the citizen at all time.
Welcoming the gathering, the Deputy Director, Shri B. Binoy, emphasized the importance of the occasion for the community as after establishment of the STS Unit in Shaheed Dweep in the year 2002 with only mini buses, it was the first long chassis bus allotted to the Island.
Smt. Champa Das, Pramukh, Prothrapur Panchayat Samiti, Smt. Pinky Das, Pradhan, Gram Panchayat Shaheed Dweep and Shri Dasarat Verma Zilla Parishad Member, Shaheed Dweep while appreciating the efforts of Transport Department highlighted some of the issues pertaining to the residents of the Island.
The event concluded with vote of thanks proposed by Shri Sanjiv Kumar Singh, Assistant Director (Transport.