Archives for April 28, 2025

Sri Vijaya Puram, Apr 28: With deep concern for the longstanding hardships faced by the tsunami-affected families in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, Member of Parliament, A&N Islands, has submitted written request letter to the Lt. Governor, A&N Islands, seeking intervention to issue tenancy rights to the allottees of permanent tsunami shelters. A copy of the request has also been endorsed to the Prime Minister of India and the Hon’ble Union Home Minister for their kind perusal and necessary support.
In his letter Mr. Ray has stated that the permanent tsunami shelters, constructed between 2006 and 2009 across various locations such as Campbell Bay, Little Andaman, Sippighat, Terelabad, Burmanallah, Calicut, Chouldhari, Nayashahar, Bambooflat and others, were allotted to the affected families who had suffered immense loss of life and property during the 2004 Tsunami. These shelters were built through a collaborative effort involving NGOs and government agencies.
While the families were allotted shelters through formal allotment orders and have independently managed utility services like water and electricity for the past 16 years, they have not received any financial assistance for repairs or maintenance. As a result, most of these shelters are now in a dilapidated state, with extensive damage to roofs, ceilings and structures
Adding to their distress is the absence of any written legal title or tenancy rights over the land under their occupation (approximately 200 sq. meters per household). This lack of formal tenure has deprived them of the opportunity to access bank loans, avail benefits under various government housing schemes, or undertake repairs and renovations independently
In his communication, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray has requested that tenancy rights, by way of issuing licences over the occupied lands, be granted to these families under the relevant provisions of the A&N Islands Land Revenue and Land Reforms Regulation, 1966 and the associated rules. Granting such rights would empower the affected families to maintain and reconstruct their homes according to their requirements, access financial and government support systems, and improve their quality of life.
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray has expressed hope that the Lt. Governor will consider the genuine plight of these families and take swift action to grant them the legal protection and dignity they deserve.

Vikramaditya
Sri Vijaya Puram, Apr 28:Mr. Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, the 24-year-old US national arrested for illegally attempting to contact the protected Sentinelese tribe at North Sentinel Island, has been granted bail on April 27 and released from judicial custody. It ls learnt that following his release, Mr. Polyakov is currently living in a rented accommodation in Port Blair and is barred from leaving the Andaman and Nicobar Islands until the court proceedings are completed.
Before his first court appearance, officials from the US Embassy had visited Port Blair to review the case and offer consular support. The case against Mr. Polyakov remains ongoing, and he is required to attend all future court hearings.
As per reports, Mr. Polyakov, described by police as a “thrill-seeker,” embarked on an illegal mission towards the highly restricted North Sentinel Island on March 29, 2025. Using an inflatable boat equipped with an outboard motor, GPS, and a GoPro camera, he navigated close to the island and even set foot ashore, leaving behind offerings like coconuts and cola in an attempt to attract the Sentinelese tribe.
His unauthorized actions violated the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation, 2012, which prohibits travel within 5 kilometers of North Sentinel Island to protect the isolated and vulnerable tribe from outside contact. The legal proceedings in this case are expected to continue in the coming weeks.

Sri Vijaya Puram, Apr. 28:The two-day A&N Conference, SANGITI-2025 (Survey of Andaman & Nicobar Governance Initiatives for Transformative Islands) got underway at DBRAIT today. Organized by A&N Administration, the Conference was inaugurated by Admiral D K Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.), Hon’ble Lt. Governor, A&N Islands & Vice Chairman, Islands Development Agency by lighting the traditional oil lamp in the presence of Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Dr. Chandra Bhushan Kumar, IAS, Guest Speakers from NITI Aayog, Senior Officers of Defence & Civil Administration, Tourism Stakeholders and others. The session commenced by observing with a two-minute silence to pay tributes to those who lost their lives in the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Lt. Governor said that conceptualization of this forum – open ended discussions involving stakeholders from different fields is a path breaking initiative of A&N Administration and its desired objective is for the attainment of the ‘Viksit Bharat Vision’ of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi by 2047 as also our march towards 5 trillion plus economy and what the UT’s contribution can be in this direction.
The Lt. Governor remarked that the UT Administration is committed to implement various socio-economic schemes including the Flagship Schemes effectively to trigger the overall development of the Island economy. He said, the UT Administration envisages to have a good quality of life thereby ensuring ‘Ease of Business’, ‘Ease of Living’ initiatives, provision of Power, drinkable water, Health Care for individuals and the Administration has done reasonably well to enable a society which is vibrant, culturally rich and harmonious.
Unlike mainland India, the UT Administration has successfully implemented various schemes of Central Government and remained as Table Topper in many of the nation-wide evaluation process done by various agencies from time to time and in most of the social indicators while out performing many States and UTs and also better ranked as compared to the National average. The UT of A&N Islands was felicitated as the “Top Achiever in Two Citizen Centric Reform Areas” in Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP)”. The Islands secured the top position in the 1st and 3rd Rozgar Melas by issuing the highest number of appointment letters. He said, 5000 unfilled vacancies were filled in a span of two years. Further, among all the UTs, and in the States of the Country, A&N Islands stood first as the first Swachh Sujal UT of the Country.
The Lt. Governor said that many transformational infrastructure projects have been taken up with the setting up of the ‘Islands Development Agency’ in the month of June, 2017. Many of the visionary & transformational projects have been completed viz. Optical Fiber Cable (OFC), Bridge on Humfrey Strait, New Airport Terminal Building etc. The Lt. Governor further mentioned that codal formalities have been completed or at various stages of completion in a vast number of infrastructure projects. The Lt. Governor said that with a vision to develop the Islands, the UT Administration has been pushing many major projects to have a total shift in the development trajectory of the Islands for the past few years.
The Lt. Governor pointed out the necessity for development of the A&N Islands as a premier scuba diving destination in the Indian Ocean Region, with the aim of attempting several underwater Guinness World Records.
The Lt. Governor also underscored the importance of ensuring a safe environment for tourists, particularly in light of the Pahalgam incident.
The Lt. Governor concluded his speech by mentioning that the outcome of the deliberations will help in bringing transformative changes in the overall development of the Island territory focusing on the pressing needs of this territory and leveraging the most promising available opportunities.
The Lt. Governor also launched the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Tourism App and released Tourism Activity Calendar. He also virtually inaugurated the ‘Roof Top Solar Power Plants’ installed in Government buildings and launched DAKSHATA programme on the occasion.

In his address, the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration informed that during the Chief Secretaries conference held in December, the Prime Minister has asked to organize similar kind of conference in States & UTs so that more engagements happen in ground levels and this conference is a continuation in that direction. The purpose of organizing this conference is to give meaningful engagements to ourselves so that we have a very clear-cut purposes to various themes & various issues regarding development. He said, this conference has been devised in 7 broad themes such as 1. Tourism, 2. Biodiversity, 3. Mobility, 4. Energy, 5. Strategic Security, 6. (A). Water, 6. (B). Circular economy, 7. (A)Production Economic- Agriculture, 7. (B) Production Economic-Fisheries. The two-days deliberations will surely help in preparing a roadmap particularly for the financial year-2025-2026 and planning for the future, the CS added.
Earlier, the Commissioner, A&N Administration, Shri ASPS Raviprakash, IAS, welcomed the gathering. The inaugural function concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by the Secretary (Planning), Dr. Aman Gupta, IAS.
The conference has been devised in 7 broad themes. Today, the speakers deliberated on themes such as Tourism, biodiversity, mobility and energy.