VOL: 35 n ISSUE: 29 n FRIDAY n 16 MARCH 2012 PORT BLAIR n Rs. 5.00 n PAGES 8 n RNI No. 28480/75

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Thousands of youngsters andteenagers have fallen to the addic-tion of Opium derivative - CodeinePhosphate based cough syrupswhich are eating into the vitals ofthe society. Its high time theAdministration wakes up andtakes serious note of the magnitudeof the issue.

C-COMPANYSILENT KILLERON PROWL

THE POLITICS OFPOWER

2 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 16 MARCH 2012

BYZUBAIRAHMED

Everyone from those in theAdministration to thecommon man on the

streets today accepts the invari-able fact that the Admn-runShipping Services is in sham-bles and the only solution is tolook outward and find privatepartners. The same perceptionis shared about the ElectricityDepartment too. In 2003,Suryachakra PowerCorporation Ltd (SPCL), theindependent power producerstarted its operations in theIslands with its 4 (5 MWDiesels Gensets) totaling 20MW.

The recent squirmishbetween SPCL and the Admnbroke out after one DG set ofSPCL broke down and anotherone was shut down for over-hauling, creating acute short-age of power in SouthAndaman. There are manyissues which have been keptaway from the purview ofcommon man. It was a politi-cal decision to have SPCL inAndamans. During the NDAregime, SPCL used all its influ-ences to get the projectthrough. In fact, the power sit-uation improved and at thesame time, the whole focus ofthe Administration in upgrad-ing its own units took a back-seat. Presently, the situation asa whole is in a precarious con-dition for comfort. Thedependence on the privateplayer is to the extent of 80%where they hold all the cards.There were no future projectsto ameliorate the situation. Apotentially dangerous situationhad been predicted long back.

The Power PurchaseAgreement (PPA) between thedepartment and Suryachakrais alleged to be loaded infavour of the latter and it hasbeen a constant source of irri-tation in the relation betweenthe two. A detailed analysis ofPower Purchase Agreement islong overdue. Since 2003, theCompletion Cost has been amatter of dispute. Suryachakrahad claimed an amount of Rs

85 crores as the completioncost whereas the Admn did notagree to it. The matter wasreferred to Central ElectricityAuthority (CEA). The disputehas been dragging for last tenyears without any break-through. The cost of the plantwas Rs 65 crores and the com-pletion cost as claimed bySPCL was not acceptable to theAdmn. SPCL had been claim-ing the difference amount ofabout Rs 20 crores.

Speaking to LoA, JalajSrivastav, Secretary, Power toldthat CEA had finally informedthat the completion cost to beRs 77 crores, a difference ofabout Rs 12 crores. However,another fax on 15 March 2012received from CEA has per-plexed the Administration,which has enhanced theCompletion Cost to be aboutRs 80 crores, an increase ofanother Rs 3 crores. TheAdmn, it seems to have its owndoubts about the action ofCEA. As usual in the press note,Secretary Power has statedthat the Admn is examiningthe fax about completion costfixed by the CEA and a decisionwould be taken thereon. Inshort the dispute will continue.However, SPCL officials claimthat the amount of Rs 77 crorewas decided by the Admn andnot CEA. CEA has arrived atthe figure of Rs 80 crores plusfinancial ties of another Rs 2crores. They also feel that theAdmn is still indulging indelaying tactics by not accept-ing the CEA's decision.

As per the PPA, the SPCL hadto procure fuel and store it in its2000 KL facility at the plant.The first violation happenedwith the onus of fuel supplyshifted to the Department.However, Jalaj Srivastav justi-fied it saying that the decisionwas not wrong as the govtdepartment has the advantageof buying fuel on subsidizedrate. Moreover, he said thatSPCL was not in a financialposition to stock fuel for 20days.

Another violation happenedwhen the Admn 'assisted' the

SPCL with Rs 2.5 crores and Rs2.9 crores at two occasions.Why such a sympatheticapproach which it says isagainst the PPA? Why such anapproach is now denied? Is itwith the change of officials atthe helm? Reliable sourcesinformed LoA that SPCL hadapproached the LieutenantGovernor for Rs 5 Crore loan,and he had instructed theChief Secretary to provide theloan and the CS had assuredSPCL that the amount will becleared in a couple of days.However, at some level theissue took a u-turn and theloan was denied citing it as vio-lation of PPA.

Jalaj Srivastav informed thatthe Admn took SPCL's case forloan to the ANIIDCO also butthe Board of Directors after duediligence and enquiry from thebanks, decided that the loancannot be granted. However, itis learnt that ANIIDCO as aterm lending institution doesnot extend short term loans.Moreover, SPCL was seekingworking capital funding, forwhich they should haveapproached commercial banks.“ANIIDCO does not provideloans to the tune of Rs 5crores,” said MohammedPervaiz, General Manager,ANIIDCO.

After setting up the IPP inAndamans, Surya ChakraPower Corporation launchedIPO in 2007 which was ratedaverage and its net profitdeclined 76.62% in theDecember 2011 quarter. Theprecarious financial situation ofSPCL is blamed for denial ofloans by commercial banks.

SPCL is also blaming thatthere is an average loss ofabout 10 KL of fuel duringtransportation, for which theysuspect some foul play in con-nivance with IOC officials.

The total power requirementof South Andaman was about22 MW as in December 2003.At present the demand is about33 MW, an increase of about10 MW from 2003. The totalpower generated by ChathamPower House and Phoenix BayPower House is about 16 MWand the rest 20 MW is generat-ed by IPP SPCL. Every year, inthe last decade, the increase inpower demand was about 1MW i.e, about 10 MW in adecade. What was the Admndoing all these 10 years, andwill do in the next 3 months?

When asked about the slug-gish attitude of the Admntowards infrastructural require-ments, Secretary Power agreedthat the Admn has a very lazymindset. He also blamed the

The Politics of PowerAmidst this entire hullabaloo, the real victims are the poor Islanders, unaware ofthe power play at the higher levels. Somebody needs to play referee in thismatch between Admn and SPCL to put an end to the never-ending blame game.

Superintending Engineer (SE)for the precarious condition.He said that the ChiefSecretary in his weeklyCoordination meeting sinceJuly, 2011 has been instructingfor hiring of containerized DGsets which can be deployedwithin very little time.However, SE (Elec) hadassured in December, 2011setting March, 2012 as itsdeployment period. He saidthat SE failed in procuring thegensets and that he has beensent on a long leave.

He also said that by the endof March, 2012, one M/s NewBharat will be able to deploy 5MWs of additional power inPort Blair. When asked abouthiring gensets from privateparties, he said that there is noother alternative. He said thatthe work culture and perform-ance of the department is notsatisfactory. He also acceptedthe fact that dept-run powerplants have sub-optimal uti-lization. Out of six gensets only5 are in working condition atChatham Power House. Onegenset procured after tsunamiwas lying idle for a long peri-od.

There is a proposal to hirethree containerized DG Sets oftotal 15 MWs within threemonths. Thus apart from theexisting capacity, 5 MWs ofM/S New Bharat and an addi-tional 15 MWs from the newhiring of containerized DG setsshould provide a backup ofpower of 20 MWs , in otherwords, even if entire SuryaChakra Power Plant wouldneed to be maintained, therewould be 20 MWs additionalback up capacity so that thereis no disruption of power.

He conceded that the T&Dloss is very high at about19.4%. However, he said thatit is far low than the nationallevel. In comparison, Srivastavsaid that the T&D loss in Delhiwas about 58% in 1992.

The Ping-Pong over powercrisis is continuing with theball in SPCL's court at present.SPCL sources informed thatVijay Kumar, Manager SPCL iscoming to Port Blair on 19March 2012 and anotherrejoinder is on the anvil. It ispertinent that amidst thisentire hullabaloo, the real vic-tims are the poor Islanders,unaware of the power play atthe higher levels. Somebodyneeds to play referee in thismatch to put an end to thenever-ending blame game.

3 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 16 MARCH 2012

BYZUBAIRAHMED

The C-Companies (Corex-addicts) are the newgroups of teenagers and

children, roaming around useverywhere, addicted tocough syrups, a new fadcatching up very fast. Thesociety as well as the adminis-tration is caught totallyunaware about the magnitudeof the problem and the dan-gers lying ahead.

They brush the catastropheunder the carpet. TheDirectorate of Health Serviceshas never undertaken anycomprehensive survey to dealwith it. 70 to 80 percent of theaddicts identified use easilyavailable prescription drugsand substances like alcoholbased cough syrup, painkillersand eraser fluid.

Medicinal opiates likeCodeine, Corex and Rexcofand prescription drugs likeAlprax and Spasmo Proxyvon

are available across the count-er in medical shops that havemushroomed over 10-15years. Despite being bannedelsewhere in the country, vari-ants of these drugs are sold in"huge quantities" in ourIslands.

A large number of teensincluding small kids are todayaddicted to codeine basedcough suppressants and manydeaths on this account havebeen reported.

Shafiq (name changed), theonly son of a lower middleclass family after graduationstruggled hard to land up ajob. Finally after sacrificesfrom his family with meagreresources, he landed a jobwith Municipal Council. Hisfather stood by himand sold off hisancestral land to gethis son a job.

Shafiq who wasquite happy with hisjob in the council fell

into the trap of bad company.In the meantime, he got mar-ried and became the proudfather of two little sons.However, he was not even fiveyears into the job when hedeveloped chest problems. Hisparents did not know what thematter was. His wife too wasunaware of the illness or itscause. Shafiq did not have anyvisible vices. Nobody knewthat Shafiq was addicted tocough syrups, and was takingabout 3-4 bottles daily. He wasadmitted into the hospitalwhere, after a few days, hebreathed his last.

Rasheed (28)s u c -

cumbedto this addiction

a couple of years ago.Mohit another teenager losthis life. The dead body ofanother young addict wasfound lying near Tiranga Parka couple of years back. Onceaddict, it becomes very hard toget out of it. They are doomedfor life. In any given village,one will find more than 20-25kids who consume codeinephosphate based coughsyrups to get high.

There are two types of peo-ple who consume coughsyrups - One group who wantsto get relief from their chronicbouts of cough. Another groupwon't cough in their lifetime

as they consume the syrupdaily. Unfortunately, the sec-ond group might not survivelong. And there are two typesof cough syrups available asover the counter drug -Codeine Phosphate based andnon-codeine based.

Rexcof, Biorex, RC, Rancof,Corex, Phensedyl and Mit'sLinctus Codeine are codeinebased drugs, available in phar-macy shops. Legally, all thesedrugs can only beobtained by aphys i -

cian's pre-scription, but

everyone knows that morethan 90% of the product issold without any prescription.

High doses of codeine arejust as dangerous as any illegaldrug. In fact, many teens use itto mimic the euphoric andhallucinogenic effects of ecsta-sy. They try to have an almostpsychedelic experience similarto designer drugs. It's outthere everywhere and peopledon't realize what a powerfuland dangerous drug it is whentaken in high doses.

However, try to get a bottleof Rexcof from any pharmacy,they won't give you. Instead,ask for a "Bada wala" andwrapped in a paper, you willget a 100 ml bottle of Rexcoffor Rs 70/-

I tried getting a bottle of

Rexcof from a pharmacy shopin Junglighat. They did notgive me. I sent one of myyoung friends to the sameshop after a while and hebrought a bottle wrapped

in a paper.About 15-20 thousand of

bottles of cough syrup are soldevery month in the Islands. Nodoctors in the Islands pre-scribe Rexcof. Except a coupleof pharmacy shops in PortBlair and surrounding areas,everyone secretly stock largequantity of this particularcough syrup. LoA team visitedabout 15-20 hangouts aroundthe city and the rural areasand was dumbfounded to findlarge quantity of empty bottleslying everywhere. The firstthought that struck us was dothe entire cough patients gath-er at one point and take theirmedicine? Or is it part of massdrug administration? Andwhy only bottles of Rexcof,when generally, the syruppopular was called Corex?The curiosity led us to a phar-macist.

A pharmacist, who is a dis-

C-COMPANYSILENT KILLER ON PROWL

Thousands of youngsters and teenagers have fallen to the addiction ofOpium derivative - Codeine Phosphate based cough syrups which are eat-ing into the vitals of the society. Its high time the Administration wakesup and takes serious note of the magnitude of the issue.

4 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 16 MARCH 2012

tributor too, on anonymitytold LoA that by selling Corex,a proprietary drug manufac-tured by Pfizer, pharmacy getsonly 10-12% margin, inPhensedyl, the margin isbetween 15-18%. But, Rexcof,product of Cipla is a genericdrug which gives a huge mar-gin of about 35-40%. In sim-ple terms, if you sell a bottle ofRexcof, you make a profit ofabout Rs 30. And, from ourinvestigation, we could gatherthat every pharmacy except afew, sells about 100-150 bot-tles of Rexcof daily. And theymake a cool net profit of aboutRs 3000-4000 a day! Whyshould they sell anything else?

And the worst part of ourinvestigation was that the tensof thousands of bottles con-sumed are not by patients, butyoung addicts, most of themschool and college students.They roam around the city incars or gather at the meetingpoints and have their dose ofcough syrup.

Behind ITF Ground, nearKhaitan Function Hall,Junglighat Colony, BehindHotel Gagan, Aberdeen Bazar,

Mohanpura, Foreshore Road,Mini Stadium, Dollygunj,abandoned govt quarters andsmall joints in almost all ruralareas, small c-groups gatherand consume the deadlycough syrup.

This addiction does not dis-criminate between rich orpoor parents, or even upper,middle or lower class. Theabuse is spreading its tentaclesthroughout the Islands. Inrural areas, the drugs arestocked in pan shops and pro-vision stores and in the city, itsthere in every pharmacy.

Its an expensive addictionand needs about Rs70-150 daily andhere comes therole of parents."Parents are so care-less and generousthat they are pushingtheir own children intodeath traps," said thepharmacist.

"Reported cases may be spo-radic," says another local phar-macist.

The abuse goes unreportedas parents aren't as likely torecognize their teens' abuse of

lawful drugs, as they are likelyto spot the use of illicit drugs,like marijuana or liquor. Inareas like Tusonabad,Ograbraj, Wimberly Gunj,Mannarghat etc; people, par-ticularly young men and stu-dents take these cough syrupin a big way.

"There are no physical activ-ities for small children nowa-days and they are also notseen playing games any-where," rues a concerned par-ent whose child is a victim ofcough syrup. "Iw a s

not aware ofmy child's addiction,

and I have myself bought himthe syrup thinking he needsthe medicine, but when Icame to know of such a habitfrom others, I kept a tab onhim. But I don't know how tosave him."

The abuse is rampant in

rural areas and in communi-ties, where liquor consump-tion is a taboo. Due to the fearof being noticed using liquorand alcoholic drinks, teenshave hit up on the idea ofusing legally available substi-tutes. All over the Islands, it isvisible to naked eye that abuseis on the rise. Earlier, pettyshops in our Islands use tostock major cough syrups, but,realizing the huge profit, phar-macies have taken a leadtoday. Ready availability ofsuch drugs in nearby shops inrural areas tempts students toinitially taste and later fall intothe trap.

“Once trapped, there is noescape,” says Rahul, an addict.He needs about 2 bottles daily.His hands shiver and face per-spires and only solution isdaily dose of the syrup.

The lack of concern aboutthe society and particularlythe young generation is anoth-er reason for rise of suchhabits. "I know one teacherwho used to sell cough syrupsto students," said a student ofa reputed school in Port Blair."There are places in Port Blair,where they serve cough

syrups for Rs 10/- per servingto students," he said.

There are many bizarreaddictions too. A small layer ofIodex spread on bread is alsotried by students. "All theseexperiments come from stu-dents who go for studies tomainland," said a shopkeeper,who is also a social activist.Apart from cough syrups, dilu-tor, which comes with awhitener brand Erazex manu-factured by Kores is used forsniffing. It's very popularamong students studying inMiddle and Secondary classes.

Tablets like SpasmoProxyvon, Alprax andAlprazolam were also invogue till recently.

Speaking to LoA, Dr S KPaul, Director, DHS said thathe will keep a tab on the phar-macies and drug license hold-ers. "However, without properlegal framework, it would bevery difficult to control it," hesaid. Is it not the time respon-sible people, agencies, civilsociety and the administrationsit up and devise ways andmeans to fight this plague,which is eating into the vitalsof the society big time?

One of the constituentsof these cough syrupsis the habit forming

drug Codeine Phosphate I.P.that falls under the narcoticdrugs category, whichbelongs to the class of opiumalkaloids and derivatives.Codeine provides relief byblocking the ascending painpathways by binding to opi-ate receptors found in theCNS. It also helps suppresscough by direct action in themedulla

Individually it falls underthe narcotics category but ifmanufactured with otheringredients as cough syrup it

falls under the prescriptiondrugs category. Though,these drugs are preparationsof manufactured drugs, theirpossession, trade and con-sumption are subject toNDPS Rules. Violation ofthese rules would attractpunishment under Section21 of the Act.

The Codeine based drugsare so addictive that it forcesdependence and withdrawalsymptoms are also too dan-gerous. Nausea, vomiting,constipation; drowsiness,confusion; difficulty in mic-turition, ureteric or biliaryspasms, urinary retention;

dry mouth, dizziness, sweat-ing, facial flushing,headache, vertigo, bradycar-dia, tachycardia, palpitations,orthostatic hypotension,hypothermia, restlessness,mood changes, decreasedlibido or potency, hallucina-tion, miosis; raised intracra-nial pressure and musclerigidity are the symptomsfound in the addicts of coughsyrups containing codeine.

Symptoms also include lossof balance, increased pulse,and hypothermia; severehigh blood pressure, loss ofconsciousness, mania, loss ofmuscle control, coma,seizures, cerebral haemor-rhages and stroke.

These drugs are potentiallyfatal too with respiratorydepression and hypotension,with circulatory failure andeven deepening coma.

CODEINETHE OPIUM DERIVATIVE

5 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 16 MARCH 2012

Ladies First!PAUPER’S LOG |ABU ARSH

We wake up once in a bluemoon to debate how fair weare in granting equality to

our women. There are discourses onthe need for women's upliftment andempowerment from the clutches ofsociety which is deeply entrenched inorthodox and traditional values bor-dering more on male supremacy.International women's day whichfalls on 8th March every year calls forcelebrations from a wide variety oforganisations. The women speakersin these seminars dwell on a variedissues ranging from Female infanti-cides and sex selective abortions toconquering the outer space.

This year saw a series of seminarsorganised to mark 'Internationalwomen's day' in the islands. Issuescropping up this time though oftrepeated do make us believe there isstill a gender bias in the lives ofwomen. Academically, whereverwomen have been given chance theyhave excelled and have surpassedtheir male counter parts.Communities where education forwomen was once considered a taboohave thrown up women who haveexcelled in their chosen field or voca-tion. It was heartening to listen towomen speakers in these seminarstalk about our President, Speaker ofthe Lok Sabha, Chairperson of UPAand Leader of the opposition in theLok Sabha - all being women anddoing a good job of it. There were ref-erences to great visionaries of the pastwho have worked for womenempowerment.

Major issues raised in these semi-nars were enhanced representation ofwomen in planning and decisionmaking bodies like the IslandDevelopment Authority, HomeMinister's Advisory Council,Lieutenant Governor's AdvisoryCouncil and Local self Governanceand civic bodies. The basis for thisargument was largely based on thefigures of total population of womenviz a viz men in the Islands. Enhancedrepresentation would mean betterredressal and prioritization ofwomen's issues. There were valid sug-gestions made by some about betterand exclusive services for girls andwomen in public transport. This,apart from providing better securityto women would also mean morecomfort in travel for the ladies.

Speakers representing the plight ofrural women expressed dissatisfac-tion with exploitation of women inthese areas. Though the women folkcontribute and labour more towardslivelihood and household duties, their

efforts are not given due appreciation.Women health and hygiene issuesneed attention in these areas. Theyare subject to domestic violencewhich does not have much of anurban- rural divide as it is prevalenteverywhere. Major factor contribut-ing to it is - Alcoholism of their men.As the environment around is ripewith easy availability of alcohol andother intoxicating substances, it leadsto issues where women and herhousehold is destroyed. With an alco-hol addicted male in the house, entireresponsibility of sustenance of herselfand her kids fall on her and she has toface up to the society which is alwayson a look out for an easy prey toexploit. The strong willed and quali-fied women would excel in this situa-tion would bail herself out of suchmess and make a new beginning forher family but such cases are few andfar between.

Though efforts of empowerment ofwomen have been tried by govern-ments in Panchayat Raj Institutionsand other civic bodies, there are veryfew instances where women havestayed long at the helm of politicalaffairs in the Islands. It was pointedout by the women activists thatthough we have produced womenheads of these local self governancebodies very few were allowed to func-tion independently. Many were afront for their more politically ambi-tious male spouses or fathers orbrothers who would like them to bemere rubberstamps. These womenare made to work towards furtheringthe cause of their promoters. Thiscould be the reason that after a term,most of these women have disap-peared into obscurity and back totheir role as homemakers than lead-ers. There was a strong opinionamong the ladies that women shouldbe allowed to function independentlywhich would invariably have greaterimpact in the society and bring aboutreal empowerment. This can beachieved by greater confidence andtrust in women by their men.

It is undeniable that there are voca-tions which calls for dedication, devo-tion and care where women wouldsurpass men any day. Professions liketeachers, doctors, engineers, nurses,clerks, scientist, administrators andentrepreneurs are all where womenhave proved their mettle. Very soon itmay not make much of a differencewhether you have a boy or girlbecause education is the key toachieving real empowerment ofwomen. On our part let's go by-Ladies first!

It's a serious issue, but we are notaware of its magnitude. We do nothave a regular Drug Control Section

and a proper setup. Three pharmacistsare ex-officio notified as DrugInspectors. We also do not have DrugAnalyst or Public Analyst," said DrSwapan Kumar Paul, Director, DHS,who is also the State Drug Controller.

When asked whether the Directoratehave any information about the inflowand outflow of drugs which containcodeine phosphate, he said that he willtry to find out and monitor the flow toascertain the seriousness of the issue.

However one of the Drug Inspectorstold LOA that they could not keep awatch on the flow of medicinesbecause, apart from the distributors,others too bring the medicine in bulkquantity which goes unaccounted.

Dr Paul was keen to keep a tab onthis issue and had summoned all druglicense holders and asked them to sub-mit stock status within a week.

Without proper regulations and amechanism to check the inflow andoutflow of such drugs, the HealthServices too have miserably failed.

Moreover, medicines are outside thepurview of Octroi, so its very easy tohoodwink the authorities and getwhatever drugs they want to land withfalse invoices and documents.

'We will adopt a comprehensiveapproach to tackle this issue. We willinvolve health education division too tocreate awareness among school chil-dren," Dr Paul said.

It is notable that the ChandigarhAdministration has banned Codeinebased syrups; sale of Phensedyl andCorex in that UT. Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances Abuse Act1985, is stringently enforced in the city.

Whoever the agency to curb thismenace, it is high time the authoritieswake up to the situation and monitorthe sale and usage of such medicines.The availability of such drugs at street-corner shops and even pharmaciesmust be checked and drugstores shouldalso insist on prescriptions to preventthe drugs possible abuse.

THE CAMARADERIE

OBLIVIOUS DHS

The c-company has no parallelsin camaraderie. It's a classlessgroup very generous and help-

ful to each other. You can find a B-Tech graduate C-addict helping hislabourer friend in the field. You willalways find them in small groups of4-5 members sitting over a cup of teafor hours together fondling with theirmobile phones. As it's a very expen-sive addiction, they need money fortheir daily quota, taken care of byfriends on rotational basis. To sustainthe kick, they rely on sweets and dou-ble-mitta chai. Its additional expense.More or less, each one of them needabout Rs 150 a day, which they man-

age through friends or steal fromtheir houses. A door is always keptopen to recruit new members to thegroup.

"Those addicted of cough syrups arevery obsessive in their work. A sweep-er will keep cleaning the floor againand again. A designer will remainunsatisfied with his designs and keepchanging it. I have seen a boy clean-ing a glass for about 3 hours. Anotherguy who works with a service centregives your bike a brand-new look,"said Raju, an ex-addict who still can-not have regular food due to burningsensation in stomach due to overdoseof cough syrups.

6 |edit|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 16 MARCH 2012

Na kuch kehte hi banta hai, Na chup rehte hi banta haiHamara bhee to is mitti se aakhir wastha hai kuch - (Raz Andamani)

Happy Vacation, Admn!The Administration was virtually on vacation last

week with the Lt. Governor, Chief Secretary,Secretary Shipping, Secretary Education, Secretary

to LG and a horde of Directors, Special Secretaries andSupt Engineer (SE) either on leave or on vacation in themainland. There was a time when only Jalaj Srivastav,CS-in-Charge and Secretary, Power was left to hold thesystem when the Administration was locking horns withSuryachakra Power Corporation Ltd (SPCL).

In an unprecedented move, the Lieutenant Governortook a huge coterie on a foreign trip to Germany. Theteam comprised of Secretary to LG, ADC, Director,Tourism and staffs of tourism and industries.

During the same period, South Andaman includingPort Blair was reeling under prolonged load sheddingand acute water shortage, and the press note warfarebetween Admn and SPCL had taken a very dirty turnwith both parties indulging in mudslinging against eachother.

Another move that took everyone by surprise was theausterity drive directed by the Administrator that alllights except bare minimum security lights should be de-energised in the compound of Raj Niwas. He also haddirected the Admn to take similar steps in respect of allother official buildings. He wanted lights at public parksto be reduced by de-energising the alternate lights, andto curtail street lighting without compromising the over-all safety of the public.

It is heartening that the Administrator from Germanyfelt the need to send a message to the Administrationthat the first step has to be taken by the head of the fam-ily. However, Raj Niwas has its own powerhouse anddoes not share power with the grid. The solidarity withthe suffering subjects is indeed a positive step.

More heartening is the news that the Admn will haveabout 20 MW capacity of its own by July 2012. What wecould not do in 10 years, we are capable of doing it injust 3 months. In firefighting mode, we leave no stoneunturned, and that too when 85% of the Admn was onvacation.

In December 2011, the Chief Secretary in a conversa-tion with college students had promised that the watercrisis will be a matter of past in six months. We haveanother couple of months to see the promise fulfilled.

When the Admn was on a vacation, citizens in SouthAndaman could not wait and openly came out on thestreets peacefully protesting the power cuts during thismonth, when students are appearing for Board exami-nations. There were other protests and street meetingsby Left and Right parties, whereas Congress was onceagain caught napping unaware of the burning issues ofthe general public.

Anyway, the Administrator too relies more on God forgood governance rather than his Administration, let'salso pray to Almighty to save the Islands from water cri-sis. Lets wish the Admn a Happy Vacation!

16 March 2012 | Vol 35 Issue 29

BYDEBKUMARBHADRA

The examinations are onand unlike the past, powercut in the guise of rotation-

al load shedding is back haunt-ing us at a time when it hurts themost. It is no surprise that theDG sets generating electricity inthese islands develops technicalsnag and goes out of serviceevery year exactly when theexaminations commence. Thisyear too is no exception. Thepublic is reeling in darknesswhereas those hired for produc-tion of electricity in these islands(SCPL: Surya Chakra PowerCorporation Ltd) and the distrib-utor (Electricity Department,A&N Admn) are out in the openblaming each other for the crisissituation.

Let us first take at look at whathas been put in the publicdomain through newspapers byboth the parties during the lastfew days.

The Daily Telegrams carried anews item in its front page(March 13th) which reads “Dueto forced outrage of two 5MWDG set of 20 MW IPP, SPCL theElectricity Department will exer-cise two hours load shedding.Next day The Daily Telegrams(March 14th) carried anothernewsreport saying “Eventhoughthe administration is payingoperational and maintenancecharges of around Rs 35-40lakhs every month to M/s SCPL,they neglected to carry out time-ly overhauling and the currentbreakdown resulted”

Andaman Chronicle in its 15thMarch edition carried this news“Reacting over the press noteissued by the ElectricityDepartment, A&NAdministration regarding break-down of two 5 MV DG sets, theGeneral Manager (Tech), M/sSuryachakra Power CorporationLtd said the allegations of theelectricity department is base-less. In fact it is the non-cooper-ation by the electricity depart-ment which has resulted in thesituation. The report furtheradds “the situation of break-down of one engine and forcibleshutdown of other engine as aprecautionary measure couldhave been avoided had theElectricity Department heededto request for monetary help”

sought by SCPL.Another daily, The Echo of

India in its Port Blair editiondated March 15th quoted theGeneral Manager (Tech), M/sSuryachakra Power CorporationLtd as saying the electricitydepartment is withholding pay-ment on tariff invoice since com-missioning of SPCL in April2003 ie the ElectricityDepartment needs to pay SCPLan accumulated arrears amount-ing to Rs 50 Crores. Due to non-payment of such huge amounts,SCPL is facing financial con-straints hence unable to take uptimely overhaul of the engines.

Going through the abovereportings it is aptly clear the cri-sis situation leading to powercut has crept in because of seri-ous lapses on the part of boththe parties. The electricitydepartment talks about “forcedoutrage of 2 DG sets” whereasSCPL clarifies “breakdown ofone engine and forcible shut-down of other engine as a pre-cautionary measure”. Such con-flicting and contradictory state-ment issued by each of the twoparties speaks volumes aboutmismanagement; exposing theprevailing disconnect betweenElectricity Department andSCPL which is known to haveentered into a mutually agreedPower Purchase Agreement(PPA).

M/S SCPL being the companymanning the electricity generat-ing facility at Bambooflat inSouth Andaman, one is inclinedto believe their version whichsays only one DG set has suf-fered breakdown and the otherone has been shutdown as a pre-cautionary measure. Havingsaid so, it is well within any-bodys guess that the breakdownleading to power crisis is superfi-cial if not stage managed.

Further when payments ismade by Govt to a private party,safeguards to ensure proper uti-lization of funds is only a pre-requisite. The onus is thereforeon the Electricity Department tosee to it that the funds paid formaintenance of DG sets arespent on maintenance of the DGsets so that interest of the Govt isprotected and the public gets theservice for which such paymentsare made.

Washing DirtyLinen in Public

There is no point washingdirty linen in public since suchan act is neither going to solvethe power crisis nor absolve thedepartment from their responsi-bilities. Such unprofessional tac-tics indeed cast serious doubtson the functioning capabilitiesof the concerned authorities. Ifthere is any lapse, appropriateprovisions contained in theextant Power PurchaseAgreement signed by both theparties could be invoked to setright the wrongs.

It is true commissioning ofSPCL at Bambooflat hasbrought a sea change improvingelectric power availability com-pared to the pre SPCL era. AlsoM/S SPCL did a remarkable jobrestoring power supply within ashort period of time after the 26December 2004 Great Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake triggeredtsunami devastated the power-house. But non-maintenance ofDG sets leading to breakdownand load shedding especially atthe time of board examinationsevery year is denting the imageof the power generating compa-ny besides projecting theElectricity Department in poorlight among the masses.

Ironically, this is not the onlyissue or instance when the hap-less islanders have been takenfor a ride. Apart from load shed-ding during board examina-tions, it is seen one or the othership plying between mainlandand island is sent for APS duringsummer vacation causing innu-merable hardships for thosewilling to visit mainland.Further, tasks relating to aug-mentation of water supply suchas raising the level ofDhanikhari dam, Rutland waterproject, Dilthaman tank andnumerous other projects gainattention only after the onset ofsummer. Why is it so?

Why can’t the scheduledmaintenance of DG sets be com-pleted well before commence-ment of examinations? Whycan’t the mainland bound shipsbe sent for APS sometime otherthan during school vacation?Why can’t the steps required toaugment water supply be giventhe necessary boost during leanseason so that water supply isensured during summer?

Perhaps the authoritiesbelieve in the Mayans prophecyon the world in 2012, whichprompts procrastination ofimportant, urgent and timebound projects to stretchbeyond 2012! But what wouldbe the strategy if the world hap-pens to survive beyond 2012.

7 |home|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 16 MARCH 2012

SACRED | SPACE

Aboy was born to a coupleafter eleven years of mar-riage. They were a loving

couple and the boy was theapple of their eyes.

One morning, when the boywas around two years old, thehusband saw a medicine bottleopen. He was late for work sohe asked the wife to cap the bot-tle and put it in the cupboard.The mother, preoccupied in thekitchen, totally forgot the mat-ter.

The boy saw the bottle andplayfully went to it and, fasci-nated with its color, drank it all.It happened to be a poisonousmedicine meant for adults insmall dosages.

When the child collapsed, themother hurried him to the hos-pital, where he died. The moth-er was stunned; she was terri-

fied. How would she face herhusband?

When the distraught fathercame to the hospital and sawthe dead child, he looked at hiswife and uttered just fourwords.

What do you think those fourwords were? The husband justsaid, “I Love You Darling”.

The husband’s totally unex-pected reaction is proactivebehavior. The child is dead. Hecan never be brought back tolife. There is no point in findingfault with the mother. Besides, ifonly he have taken time to putthe bottle away, this would nothave happened.

No point in attaching blame.She had also lost her only child.What she needed at thatmoment was consolation andsympathy from the husband.

In a rare show of strength andcivic sense, hundreds ofIslanders marched from Goal

Ghar to Electricity Office on 16March protesting the unjustifiedpower cuts imposed on the themby both the Administration andSuryachakra.

Peacefully protesting Islandersfrom almost all walks of life,joined the rally with candle, torch-es, mobile lights and emergencylights. Some were holding ban-ners and handbills. Candles wereplaced in front of the ElectricityOffice as a symbolic gesture.

This city is what it is becauseour citizens are what theyare" - Greek philosopher Plato

has said. I quite often think thatdoes this sarcastic but candid com-ment not apply mutatis mutandisto the city and citizens of Port Blair.Be it water supply or be it powersupply, the basic civic amenitiesrequired for every citizen, evenafter 64 years of independence,and even after lofty promises madeby the Administrator twice a yeari.e on Independence Day and onRepublic Day, year after year, thecitizens of the city of Port Blair arecontent to compromise and live -hopelessly and helplessly, obvious-ly silently.

No sooner than the Summerbegins, there is disruption and cur-tailment of power supply invari-ably year after year. Nobody reallyknows as to whether there is dis-ruption in power supply or it is dis-rupted! While the ElectricityDepartment of Andaman &Nicobar Administration and theSuryachakra Corporation are toobusy in mud-slinging on each otherthe poor citizens continue to suffer.Some groups are organizingNukkad Sabhas (street cornermeetings) but are such NukkadSabhas, in which the orators andthe listeners are the same helpless

victims going to yield any result?One fact behind power crisis notknown to many is that it isabsolutely attributable to two"Honourables" - one being theHonourable Administrator of theUnion Territory and the otherbeing one of the HonourableJustices of Calcutta High Court.While the first one has no bothera-tion to rampant encroachments ongovernment land going on and on,thereby increasing the demand forpower supply, the other oneordered that power supply begiven to all even if they areencroachers. While the stalwarts ofElectricity Department are verystrict in demanding and scrutiniz-ing the land documents of thoseapplicants of power supply whoare lawful allottees or purchasersof land, they are too liberal andprompt to extend power supply toencroachers without any valid landrecords for obvious reasons.

March and April are the monthsof School as well as CBSEExaminations and load sheddingduring these months causesimmense problem to the students,even adversely affecting their per-formance. Yet the citizens of thecity of Port Blair are content tocompromise and live - hopelesslyand helplessly, obviously silently.

NA KAHU SE BHAIR | RAMTA JOGI

Hopelessly and Helplessly,Obviously Silently

Islanders ProtestPower Cuts

A Couple’s Heartbreak

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8 |back|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 16 MARCH 2012

Hot talk of the town sincea few months. ThePrimitive tribal group of

these islands especiallyJarawas found place in bothnational and internationalarena. The media both, elec-tronic as well as print andmany self proclaimed protec-tors and experts on the sub-jects came with their expertviews and comments.Weighing the sensitiveness ofthe issue even the HomeMinister, Mr. P Chidambaramduring the last leg of his visit tothese islands personally visitedthe hot spot on the AndamanTrunk Road. However hebehaved too wise by not allow-ing anyone to disturb theJarwa tribes out of over enthu-siasm for him.

In the aftermath of such situ-ation, the AnthropologicalSurvey of India in Port Blair asa part of its Silver Jubilee of itsexistence in the islands con-ducted a national level twodays seminar inviting manyexperts on the tribal related

subjects.A greenhorn in the subject, I

was inquisitive to know moreabout them, especiallyresearch based information orelse so I did not fail to attendthe seminar. Believe it or not,on both the days all the delib-erations surpassed over myhead. Once the seminar wasfinally culminated, Iapproached a vocal critic ofsuch seminars and asked for ahis ‘expert’ comments.

First comment: An expert is aperson who will watch thewatch on your wrist and tellyou what the time is!

Second comment: If theseJarawas attain the mainstreamand start wearing clothes tobecome gentlemen, many ofthe gentlemen of our presentsetup will have to let loosetheir cloth to become naked(Exposed). And smartly he left.Yet again, I could not under-stand any of his commentssince both of them passed overmy head.

—Musafir

Experts and Jarawaschalte | CHALTE candid | CAMERA