VOL: 35 n ISSUE: 20 n FRIDAY n 02 DECEMBER 2011 PORT BLAIR n Rs. 5.00 n PAGES 8 n RNI No. 28480/75

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HOPES, ASPIRATIONS AND CHALLENGES AHEADShakti Sinha Interacts with the Leaders of Tomorrow

In a unique TV show conceived andproduced by Doordarshan KendraPort Blair, the Chief Secretary ShaktiSinha interacted with the collegestudents of these Islands. It was a

welcome change that the young mindsput across queries that affected themand the Chief Secretary without anyinhibitions took questions on water,transportation, agriculture, education,disaster preparedness and of courseAssembly for the Islands. He also dis-cussed government's vision on infra-structure, tourism and human resourcesof Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Theshow conceived by G Sajan, Asst

Director, Programme, DoordarshanKendra, Port Blair was one of its kind.

Shakti Sinha initiated the discussionwith an opening remark about theIslands. He said that Andaman andNicobar Islands is a very unique Islandarchipelago in our country. There is noother state or territory in our countrylike these Islands. It's very far from themainland, surrounded by sea.Moreover, the culture of the Islands isalso distinctive. It's an ideal India.Nature and human resources are itsmain resources. If both these resourcesare developed, the Islanders can see theIslands developing itself. Tourists come

in large numbers to see the naturalbeauty of the Islands - mountains,forests, marine life and the ocean. Thenpoured questions from the young adults.

GGYYAANNEESSHH:: SSiirr,, tthhiiss iiss yyoouurr sseeccoonndd ssttiinntt iinntthheessee IIssllaannddss.. YYoouu hhaadd bbeeeenn hheerree aass aa yyoouunnggooffffiicceerr tthhrreeee ddeeccaaddeess aaggoo.. WWhhaatt cchhaannggeess ddooyyoouu ffeeeell oorr wwhhaatt wwaass yyoouurr vviissiioonn aatt tthhaatt ttiimmeeaanndd hhooww ddoo yyoouu sseeee tthhee cchhaannggeess ttooddaayy??

We always remember our olden daysas golden era. In true sense, day to daylife in our Islands three decades backwas very different. Port Blair was a smalltown, there were cleanliness every-where. But life was very tough. There

2 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 02 DECEMBER 2011

was no cooking gas. People usedto cook with firewood. Nophones at all, forget mobilephones. If you had to talk tosomeone in Mayabunder, youhad to write a letter, which willreach in a week time. Ships pliedbetween mainland and Islandtwice a month. The next day,there was rush in Ratnam marketfor purchasing onion and pota-

toes, as it exhausted in no time. Istill remember, the Islands had togo without onions and matchboxfor a month. Today, the wholescenario has changed. Take anyIsland - Kamorta, Campbell Bayor Diglipur, there is a vastchange. To communicate, use thephone, travel anywhere in a day.A few decades ago, there were nonewspapers. If your family is in

mainland, you could contactthem once in a month. The dif-ference is huge. In education sec-tor itself, we have an engineeringcollege. JNRM has become amajor institution. Earlier, theGovt College was very small. Ourmain effort during that periodwas for day to day survival.Today, we are discussing ourfuture, that's the difference.

AAKKAASSHH:: AAllll ooff uuss kknnooww tthhaatt oouurr IIssllaannddsshhiigghhllyy ddeeppeenndd oonn rraaiinn ffoorr wwaatteerr.. EEvveerryyyyeeaarr,, wwee ggeett aabboouutt 33000000 mmmm ooff rraaiinn--ffaallll,, tthhee ppaatttteerrnn ooff wwhhiicchh kkeeeeppss cchhaanngg--iinngg.. BBuutt,, oouurr ppooppuullaattiioonn iiss iinnccrreeaassiinngg..WWee ssttiillll ffaaccee aaccuuttee sshhoorrttaaggee ooff wwaatteerr..WWhhaatt ppllaannss ddoo oouurr AAddmmnn hhaavvee ttoo ttaacckk--llee tthhee ssccaarrcciittyy ooff wwaatteerr??

It's a very good question. ForSouth Andaman, not only PortBlair, Dhanikhari Dam is a veryimportant source of water. Theheight of Dhanikhari Dam isbeing raised by 5 metres. Fivemetres does not look very big.But the capacity of storage will goup from 17 million litres to 32million litres. In other words, wewill be doubling the storagecapacity. Side by side we are alsotrying to lay down the submarinepipeline from Chain Nallah inRutland Island to SouthAndaman, which will again feedDhanikari. As far as SouthAndaman is concerned, waterwill not be an issue at all fromnext six months onwards. Inother parts of the Islands also, weare planning major water supplyschemes by harvesting as muchwater as possible, which includesmajor rainwater harvesting, cre-ation of water bodies, andimprovement of quality of drink-

ing water, fit for human con-sumption. We are constructingwater filtration plants every-where. As far as I can see, waterwill not be an issue anymore inAndaman Islands. Of course, youare right, rainfall pattern changesa lot. During last one year wehave had more rainfall everrecorded in the history ofAndaman Islands. But some-times, we get little rainfall. So wedo need to augment water supplysources everywhere and we doneed to adopt rainwater harvest-ing technologies as far as possi-ble.

SSUUNNIITTAA:: WWee hhaavvee aa ffeeww ccoolllleeggeess iinnoouurr IIssllaannddss wwiitthh lliimmiitteedd sseeaattss.. MMaannyyppoooorr ssttuuddeennttss ccaannnnoott aaffffoorrdd ttoo ggoo ttoommaaiinnllaanndd ffoorr hhiigghheerr ssttuuddiieess.. DDooeess tthheeAAddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn hhaavvee aannyy ppllaannss ttoo ooppeennmmoorree ccoolllleeggeess?? OOrr ccaann wwee hhaavvee oouurroowwnn uunniivveerrssiittyy??

I already mentioned that wehad just one college a fewdecades back with very limitedstrength. But today there areabout 3000 students in JNRMitself. We have a college atMayabunder too. The intakecapacity of engineering college isalso being augmented. We candecide about opening new col-leges or adding classes, but weneed many permissions andbring faculties. The toughest partis getting faculties. Classes with-out faculties don't make sense.We are definitely trying toincrease the number of studentintake. But, it does not happenovernight. Schools can beopened without much fuss, butstarting new college needs a lotof infrastructural requirementand faculties. As far as a universi-ty is concerned, it's too early tosay anything. We have onlythree-four colleges. When stu-dent strength increases, weshould have a plan in our schemeof things to have our own univer-sity, which should be Andamanfocused and offer quality educa-tion. In future, we will have tothink on that line too.

SSCCHHAALLAASSTTIICCAA:: SSiirr,, wwee aallll kknnooww tthhaattoonn 2266 DDeecc 22000044,, aa hhuuggee eeaarrtthhqquuaakkeeooccccuurrrreedd iinn oouurr IIssllaannddss ffoolllloowweedd bbyy

ddeevvaassttaattiinngg ttssuunnaammii.. II ttoooo eexxppeerriieenncceeddiitt,, bbuutt 9999%% ooff ppeeooppllee iinn oouurr IIssllaannddsswweerree nnoott aawwaarree ooff iitt.. OOuurr IIssllaannddss aarreevvuullnneerraabbllee ttoo ssuucchh kkiinndd ooff ddiissaasstteerrss..WWee wweerree ttoolldd tthhaatt tthheerree wwaass ssoommeekkiinndd ooff mmoocckk ddrriillll eexxeerrcciissee iinn CCaarrNNiiccoobbaarr,, bbuutt tthhee ppuubblliicc wweerree ttoottaallllyyuunnaawwaarree ooff iitt.. DDooeess tthhee AAddmmiinniissttrraattiioonnhhaavvee aannyy ppllaannss ttoo ccrreeaattee aawwaarreenneessss??

You are right that we had amock drill exercise in Teetop inCar Nicobar recently. But, it was avery small exercise just meant totest the system. We did not wantto cause a panic by ordering evac-uation. We could have done that,but first we wanted to check thatour systems are working fine ornot. If there is a disaster, we werejust testing how the healthdepartment would respond,what Fire Force and Police Deptwould do. We will conduct suchexercises and in the future, wewill involve the community inother actions creating awareness.Right now, the only disaster inour mind is tsunami or earth-quake. We have to also think ofother disasters. As you said 99%of people were not aware abouttsunami. Now we know tsunami.We cannot rest on that. We haveto prepare our communities, asthey must understand what theyhave to do in the event of a disas-ter. Unless they are involved, itwould be a failure. Our teamshave visited various placesincluding Indonesia to learn theirways of preparedness and wewant to bring that kind of knowl-edge to the Islands. We have alsoformed community groups invarious places. We never wantedour drills to cause panic and cre-ate situations like stampedes.Hence, we plan it very carefully.

SSAANNTTHHAAKKUUMMAARR:: WWee hhaavvee oonnllyyPPoonnddiicchheerrrryy UUnniivveerrssiittyy ccoonndduuccttiinnggEEnnttrraannccee EExxaammiinnaattiioonnss hheerree ffoorr hhiigghheerrssttuuddiieess lliikkee MM PPhhiill aanndd PPhhDD.. MMaannyy ssttuu--ddeennttss ccaannnnoott aaffffoorrdd ttoo ggoo ttoo mmaaiinnllaannddttoo ttaakkee ssuucchh eexxaammiinnaattiioonnss.. WWhhyy uunnii--vveerrssiittiieess lliikkee JJNNUU aanndd DDUU aarree nnoott ccoonn--dduuccttiinngg eennttrraannccee eexxaammiinnaattiioonnss iinn oouurrIIssllaannddss??

You should know that theseuniversities cannot have campus-es here. And, many universitieslike DU do not conduct entrance

The storage capacity of Dhanikari Dam willgo up from 17 million litres to 32 millionlitres. In other words, we will be doublingthe storage capacity. Side by side we arealso trying to lay down the submarinepipeline from Chain Nallah in Rutland

Island to South Andaman, which will againfeed Dhanikari. As far as South Andaman isconcerned, water will not be an issue at all

from next six months onwards

Many students who proceed to mainland for professional cours-es on seats allotted from the Island's quota do not come back

and our people does not benefit from their services, which is nota good thing.

The Administration has requested theGovt of India that at our cost, we are pre-pared to run a plane everyday by rotationto Chennai, Vizag and Kolkata at literallyno loss no profit basis to force the other

airlines to bring down their fares.

3 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 02 DECEMBER 2011

examinations. And, for examslike CAT, lot of expenditure isinvolved. If there is large numberof students, we can surely writeto the authorities concerned. It'sa very specific demand, and wewill be very happy to write tosuch universities, if there is ademand to conduct entranceexaminations in the Islands. TheAdministration will extend allsupport. Now, UPSC conducts itsexaminations here, for which webear the complete expenditure.

TThhee fflliigghhtt ffaarree ttoo tthhee IIssllaannddss iiss ttoooohhiigghh.. AAnndd,, ssttuuddeenntt ccoommmmuunniittyy ttooooffaacceess aa lloott ooff pprroobblleemmss dduuee ttoo tthheesstteeeepp hhiikkee iinn aaiirrffaarree..

You are absolutely right. Wehave taken up this issue withGovernment of India for a longtime. However, fares are notalways going up. As of now, thefares are extremely low. I myselfbought a ticket to come backfrom Delhi at a cost of Rs 6000/-.So fares go up and down. But, theAdministration has requested theGovt that at our cost, we are pre-pared to run a plane everyday byrotation to Chennai, Vizag andKolkata at literally no loss noprofit basis to force the other air-lines to bring down their fares. Itis a fact that the airfares in Indiaare deregulated and nobody canfix fares. It's the airlines whichfixes it like vegetables, wherenobody can dictate the price.Moreover, if the supply is highand demand supply mismatch isnot there, price will come down.Hence, we are trying to increasethe supply so that no cartel canmonopolise.

SSAACCHHIINN:: WWee hhaavvee ssuuffffiicciieenntt aaggrriiccuull--ttuurree pprroodduuccee iinn oouurr IIssllaannddss,, bbuutt wwee ddoonnoott hhaavvee aaggrroo--bbaasseedd iinndduussttrriieess hheerree..FFaarrmmeerrss ddoo nnoott bbeenneeffiitt dduuee ttoo llaacckk ooffvvaalluuee--aaddddiittiioonn.. AAnndd ffaarrmmeerrss lloossee iinntteerr--eesstt iinn aaggrriiccuullttuurree iittsseellff.. WWhhaatt sstteeppss tthheeAAddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn iiss ttaakkiinngg iinn iinnttrroodduucciinnggaaggrroo--bbaasseedd iinndduussttrriieess??

It's not the job of theAdministration to setup indus-tries. Private sector has to chip in.Our mandate is to facilitate andprovide conducive atmosphere.There are many a scheme in agri-culture in which subsidy is pro-

vided. For e.g. for setting up acold storage facility, or purchaseof machinery, we can providesubsidy. If any entrepreneurwishes to setup a unit, we willprovide all facilities, as theseIslands are very remote and theexpenditure involved is huge.Unfortunately, the area undercultivation is very less and itwon't be feasible with limitedsupply to run an industry. But,we are committed to take up theissue. With the help of NABARD,we have started a unit of Dhal inDiglipur just to encourage andsend a message that there isscope for agro-industry. TheAdministration can only runpilots, but a full fledge food pro-cessing unit by the Admn is not atall viable. At the same time, weare fully committed to supportany private entrepreneur whowishes to setup such industry.

SSHHOOBBIINNII:: II wwoouulldd lliikkee ttoo kknnooww aabboouutttthhee aattttrraaccttiivvee wwaayy ooff eedduuccaattiioonn kknnoowwnnaass ee--lleeaarrnniinngg.. DDoo wwee hhaavvee aannyy ppllaannss ttooiinnttrroodduuccee ee--lleeaarrnniinngg iinn oouurr IIssllaannddss??

Absolutely, e-learning is at theheart of our long term plans forAndaman Islands. I had men-tioned separately in anotherquestion that we lack faculty andits very difficult to get trained fac-ulties. E-learning is a solution tothat. However, e-learningrequires very good speed of inter-net, able to download andupload. Presently we rely onsatellites, where the speed is veryslow. I myself am very frustratedwhen I want to download anypage on the internet. With greatdifficulty we have madeGovernment of India to agreeand we will be the only state govtor UT Admn in the entire countryto be laying down our own sub-marine optical-fibre cable, con-necting us to the world. Once ithappens, the bandwidth avail-able will enable us not only tohave e-learning facility every-where, especially in the outerand remote areas; we can havemany other activities. We requireE-learning badly in many placesas there are many schools inremote areas with very lessstrength, where posting teachers

for every subject is not feasible.Once we have the backboneready, that we expect to have bymid-2013, just a year and half togo, a very short span of time byworld standards, we would reallybe able to give our students allover the islands tremendousopportunity of learning, not justthe course curriculum, but willbe able to explore the web world.When I discuss about humanresource development, e-learn-ing is at its very heart.

AARRUUNN KKUUMMAARR:: WWee aarree ssuurrrroouunnddeedd bbyywwaatteerr oonn aallll ssiiddeess,, bbuutt wwee ddoonn nnoott hhaavveewwaatteerr ssppoorrttss ffaacciilliittiieess iinn oouurr IIssllaannddss..HHaavvee tthhee AAddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn ttaakkeenn aannyysstteeppss ttoo pprroommoottee wwaatteerr ssppoorrttss iinn oouurrIIssllaannddss??

I think you are a student ofcommerce. You might be awarethat income and expenditurestatement is very important. Theinitial capital investment forwater sports equipments is veryhigh. The recurring costs are notmuch. Hence, ANI Admn hasprocured many water sportsequipments - like paraglidingand jet skiing. We are also oper-ating a few. Our idea is to operateit in association with a profes-sional agency. In fact, it is verydifficult for a government agencyto run a service-oriented ortourism oriented activity. As weare government servants and notstudents of commerce, it is verydifficult for a govt servant toreorient his mindset to under-stand that customer is the king.Moreover, water sports equip-ments are highly technical innature. For eg. We are setting upa decompressing chamber in GB

Pant Hospital for divers, whichwill be ready very soon. TheAdministration is willing to dothe capital investment. But theactual running of it has to be byprivate sector. The Admn is wil-ing to facilitate, partner and pro-vide all required infrastructure. Acouple of months back, theadministration had invitedYachting Society of India to start

yachting in our Islands and hun-dreds of students took interest init, and now the idea is to promoteit as a sport. You are right that theIslanders should get such facili-ties, at the same time; it willimprove the employmentprospects in the Islands. To run itas a tourism facility, we need tohave skilled manpower, and theprospects are very high. It's a

There have been encroachments in thepast, but if we look at the satellite

imagery for the last many years, there isno increase in it. Moreover, the areas

under encroachments have slightly comedown also. There might be occasional

illegal logging here and there, but it's nota cause of concern. On the other hand,trees are a renewable source and if youare able to harvest trees in sustainable

manner, there is absolutely nothingwrong.

We have also drawn up a plan which we will be implementingfrom next April onwards, where poor patients will be givenfinancial assistance and airfare for treatment in mainland.

In fact, it is very difficult for a governmentagency to run a service-oriented or

tourism oriented activity. As we are gov-ernment servants and not students ofcommerce, it is very difficult for a govt

servant to reorient his mindset to under-stand that customer is the king.

4 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 02 DECEMBER 2011

major component in our growthstrategy.

PPRRIIYYAA:: WWee aarree ttoolldd tthhaatt 8855%% ooff tthheeIIssllaannddss iiss uunnddeerr ffoorreesstt ccoovveerr..HHoowweevveerr,, wwee sseeee rraammppaanntt iilllleeggaallppooaacchhiinngg aanndd llooggggiinngg eevveerryywwhheerree..WWhhaatt sstteeppss aarree bbeeiinngg ttaakkeenn ttoo ccoonn--sseerrvvee aanndd pprrootteecctt oouurr fflloorraa aanndd ffaauunnaa??

There is nothing much toworry. I think the forest coverincludes mangroves, water bod-ies and it is about 93% and not85%. There have been encroach-ments in the past, but if we lookat the satellite imagery for thelast many years, there is noincrease in it. Moreover, the areasunder encroachments haveslightly come down also. Theremight be occasional illegal log-ging here and there, but it's not acause of concern. On the otherhand, trees are a renewablesource and if you are able to har-vest trees in sustainable manner,there is absolutely nothingwrong. In fact it is advisable touse renewable energy resourcesas against non-renewableresources like steel and cement,which requires mining, whichrequires heavy energy cost ofconversion and heavy cost oftransportation. So while we arecompletely against illegal loggingwith zero tolerance and againstencroachments, we should alsoaccept that nature and we have tolive together and we can takefrom nature provided that whatwe take is sustainable. While youare right to be concerned, weneed to spread the message thathow important nature is to ourlives and we have to utilize whatnature has to offer in a sustain-able manner.

MMAAMMTTAA:: TThheerree aarree mmaannyy ppoossttss vvaaccaannttiinn tthhee eedduuccaattiioonnaall iinnssttiittuuttiioonnss.. BBuutt,, tthheeppoossttss aarree nnoott aaddvveerrttiisseedd,, wwhhiicchh bbrriinnggssffrruussttrraattiioonn aammoonngg tthhee yyoouutthh.. OOnn oonneessiiddee,, wwee ccaann sseeee nnoo ssccooppee iinn ggoovveerrnn--mmeenntt sseeccttoorr aanndd aatt tthhee ssaammee ttiimmee,, tthheepprriivvaattee sseeccttoorr iiss vveerryy lliimmiitteedd.. WWhhaattmmeeaassuurreess ccaann tthhee aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn ttaakkeettoo rreedduuccee uunneemmppllooyymmeenntt??

First, concerning posts ofteachers, we do recruit teacherssoon after summer holidays. Wehave done the exercise this yearand large number of posts havebeen filled up. Some we couldnot fill up as we could not getadequate no. of trained and qual-ified teachers. Vacancies in thecollege have been filled up by theUPSC. About prospects ofemployment, the scope ofrecruitment and employment inthe government sector isextremely limited. We won't beable to employ many more peo-ple in government sector exceptfor those posts where peopleretire. What we can rely upon isthe bandwidth we are going tohave with the laying of the sub-marine optical fibre cable. Oncewe have the backbone with largebandwidth, e-learning, e-medi-

cine and all government work onthe internet like govt to citizentransactions, govt to businesskind of activities, once we areable to conduct such activities, ITand IT-enabled activities willhave scope in Andaman Islands.Of course, our population is limit-ed, but we will be able to createlarge number of jobs. The futureis employment in those sectorswhere you can provide service tothe public and make money outof it. Even tourism and otheractivities will benefit a lot from ITand ITES. I am sorry to disap-point you and say not to look intogovernment sector, as it will beonly able to employ limited no. ofpeople in the future, not only inAndamans, but all over India.

PPAARRVVEEZZ:: TThheerree iiss hhuuggee bbrraaiinn ddrraaiinnhhaappppeenniinngg iinn oouurr IIssllaannddss aass tthhoossee wweellllqquuaalliiffiieedd aanndd eexxppeerrttss lleeaavvee tthhee IIssllaannddssdduuee ttoo llaacckk ooff eexxppoossuurree aanndd ooppppoorrttuu--nniittyy.. HHooww ccaann wwee pprreevveenntt ssuucchh eexxoo--dduuss??

First of all, we should not bemuch concerned about braindrain. People tend to work atplaces where they are comfort-able and get the right environ-ment. But you are right, manystudents who proceed to main-land for professional courses onseats allotted from the Island'squota do not come back and ourpeople does not benefit fromtheir services, which is not a goodthing. It's a complex issue wherethe demands of the society andindividuals are poles apart.Hence, we need to create a bal-ance by augmenting the stan-dard of life, which might forcethem to think of working inAndamans. To achieve this, weneed to have better air connectiv-ity, better connectivity like phoneand internet and good educa-tional institutions, wherein notonly our children, even expertsand qualified persons from out-side come and work here. Weneed to concentrate on theseaspects. The administration hasstarted taking steps like reduc-tion of airfare, setting up of med-ical college, augment bandwidthand improve all other facilities.People should sense that withoutsacrificing any comfort, they canwork here. Theoretically, every-body sacrifices, but when itcomes to one's own life, we startthinking about our family andother responsibilities. Whenthere is overall improvement inthe living standards, we will nottalk about brain drain, but braingain.

MMOOYYNNAA:: SSiirr,, oouurr IIssllaannddss ffaaccee llaacckk ooffqquuaalliittyy mmeeddiiccaall ffaacciilliittiieess eessppeecciiaallllyy iinntthhee rreemmoottee IIssllaannddss.. MMaannyy ppaattiieennttss aarreeeeiitthheerr sshhiifftteedd ttoo GGBB PPaanntt HHoossppiittaall oorrrreeffeerrrreedd ttoo MMaaiinnllaanndd.. PPoooorr ppeeooppllee ccaann--nnoott aaffffoorrdd ttrreeaattmmeenntt iinn mmaaiinnllaanndd hhooss--ppiittaallss.. EEvveenn lliivveess aarree lloosstt dduuee ttoo llaacckk ooffbbeetttteerr hheeaalltthhccaarree..

It's a good question that you

have asked about outside PortBlair. Many people think that ourIslands begin and end in PortBlair. We definitely need toimprove our medical facilitiesoutside. Compared to many partsof mainland India, our medicalfacilities are far better. At thesame time, our challenges are fardifficult. Patient evacuation is aissue of major concern. Our mainissue is non-availability of spe-cialized doctors easily. Hence, wehave come to two agreementswith Government of India todepute specialists to the Islandsfor three months. And when theycome, we make a rotational tourof our Islands from Campbell Bayto Diglipur. In advance, weinform the doctors and thepatients about visit of specialistsso that they can mobilize thepatients. We have also tied upAmrita Institute of MedicalSciences, Kochi. But, it's not suffi-cient. We have also drawn up aplan which we will be imple-menting from next Aprilonwards, where poor patientswill be given financial assistanceand airfare for treatment inmainland. So, it's the combina-tion of all these activities,through which we hope toimprove the quality of health-care.

NNAAZZNNEEEENN:: WWee nnoowwaaddaayyss ffaaccee tthheepprroobblleemm ooff llooaadd sshheeddddiinngg.. WWiitthh mmoorreeddeemmaanndd ffoorr eelleeccttrriicciittyy,, iiss tthheerree aannyyppllaann ttoo aauuggmmeenntt ppoowweerr ggeenneerraattiioonnuussiinngg ssoollaarr aanndd wwiinndd eenneerrggyy??

Absolutely, we have alreadysigned agreement with NationalThermal Power Corporation(NTPC) which is setting up a pilot

solar plant. We are setting up apilot of mixed fuel plant. We havealso setup windmills in CarNicobar for testing and that testitself takes five to six years beforewe can setup a windmill energyplant. In our Islands, we will haveto look how to improve the quali-ty of electricity we get. Right nowwe have local power stationsserving in local areas. The advan-tage is that we can manage it eas-ily. The disadvantage is that smallplants consume more fuel. Biggerplants are fuel-efficient plants.Instead of running small stationseverywhere like Diglipur,Mayabunder, Rangat etc., we canthink about setting up biggerplants in one grid for the Islands,so that it can get power fromhydro, say Kalpong Dam, fromDiesel and also get supplementalpower from wind energy, solarenergy or mixed fuel. We are def-initely working on it and haveimplemented some of them.

RRAADDHHIIKKAA:: TThheerree iiss aa ttrreenndd ooff ppaarreennttsssseennddiinngg tthheeiirr cchhiillddrreenn ttoo ppuubblliiccsscchhoooollss ffoorr eedduuccaattiioonn.. HHooww ccaann wweeaattttrraacctt cchhiillddrreenn ttoo ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt rruunnsscchhoooollss??

First of all, government schoolsmust improve the quality of edu-cation. We have already imple-mented compulsory training ofteachers every year. The systemof Continuous Evaluation hasalso begun. Right to Education isalso being implemented. Toimprove the quality of education,we will have tie up with otheragencies to assure minimumquality everywhere. We shouldnot be bothered about parentssending their children to public

schools, but our focus should beto improve the quality of educa-tion in government run schools,where the doors are open for oneand all. Quality cannot beachieved by any magic wand.However, it is our responsibilityto see that overall quality of edu-cation is improved.

NNAAGGEESSHHWWAARRII:: WWee hhaavvee vveerryy ffeewwbbeeaacchheess ooppeenn ffoorr ttoouurriissttss,, wwhhiicchh iissggeettttiinngg ccrroowwddeedd dduuee ttoo iinnccrreeaassee iinnttoouurriissttss.. AArree tthheerree aannyy ppllaannss ttoo ooppeennnneeww IIssllaannddss wwiitthh ggoooodd bbeeaacchheess ffoorrttoouurriissmm??

Absolutely, we see tourism asthe single biggest source ofemployment generation in theIslands. The Administration hasalready entered into agreementsto setup hotels and resorts atHavelock, Neil and Long Island.We tried for Little Andaman, butwe could not get a good bid for it.We have introduced seaplaneservices from Port Blair not just toHavelock, but to Diglipur wheretourists are interested to see Rossand Smith Islands and Hut Baytoo. We are trying to have biggerplanes which can fly uptoCampbell Bay, where we havethe best locations for wave surf-ing in India due to the height ofwaves. We have to pursue differ-ent places. Side by side, we havedeveloped a project report withJungle Lodges and Resorts, aKarnataka government compa-ny. We are setting up three naturecircuits - Mount Harriet-Madhuban, Cutbert Bay-LongIsland and Ross and Smith-Saddle Peak, Diglipur. The idea isevery Island should be able todevelop with minimum tourism

It's not the job of the Administration to setup industries.Private sector has to chip in. Our mandate is to facilitate and

provide conducive atmosphere.

5 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 02 DECEMBER 2011

facilities. People can there andpartake in various activities andthese ventures will create a lot ofemployment everywhere. At thesame time, we have to be mindfulabout the impact of tourism onnature and our environment. Wecannot destroy or over exploitour environment, which is oursingle best resource for tourism.Definitely we are opening upnew Islands for tourism develop-ment.

PPRREEEETTII:: IInnddiiaann RRaaiillwwaayyss iiss oonnee ooff tthheelleeaaddiinngg rraaiillwwaayyss iinn tthhee wwoorrlldd.. IItt hhaassccoonnssttrruucctteedd mmaannyy rraaiillwwaayy lliinnkkss iinnmmaannyy ddiiffffiiccuulltt tteerrrraaiinnss iinn oouurr ccoouunnttrryyeevveenn iinn SSrriinnaaggaarr aanndd AArruunnaacchhaallPPrraaddeesshh.. WWhheenn wwiillll bbee AAnnddaammaann oonntthhee rraaiillwwaayy mmaapp ooff IInnddiiaa?? IIss tthheerree sstteeppssbbeeiinngg ttaakkeenn iinn tthhaatt ddiirreeccttiioonn??

It's a good question. A studyhas also been done in this regard.Before answering the question,we need to ask many other ques-tions. Is it required or not? Whatis possible in our Islands? Adecade ago, a survey was carriedout for a railway line betweenPort Blair and Diglipur. If weanalyse the internal rate of returnor even the economic rate ofreturn and the social rate ofreturn, the negative rate ofreturn is very high. Despite allthese, Railway Ministry hasdecided to resurvey and assessthe need for railway line and itsfeasibility. Whether a railway linematerializes or not, the means ofcommunication from CampbellBay to Aerial Bay will beimproved with focus on quality,speed and comfort.

SSUUNNIITTAA:: WWhhaatt sstteeppss hhaavvee bbeeeenn ttaakkeennbbyy tthhee aauutthhoorriittiieess ttoo pprrootteecctt tthhee ttwwooiinnddiiggeennoouuss ttrriibbeess -- JJaarraawwaass aannddSSeennttiinneelleessee??

Earlier there was a fear that thepopulation of the tribes are dras-tically coming down. In fact thepopulation growth of all indige-nous tribes was on a decline afterthe advent of British. However,2011 census paints a bright pic-ture, where the population ofJarawa has increased from 256to 380 and the numbers ofShompens have also gone up. Wehave no idea about Sentinalese,as we do not go there and disturbthem. We are more consciousabout the cultural change hap-pening among the Jarawas dueto their interaction with the set-tlers. Now there is no hostility. Tofind out the changes in theircommunity, Government ofIndia has formed a committeeand Administration is part of it.Many experts - sociologists andanthropologists are beinginvolved who have alreadyworked here and among theJarawas. They will submit theirfindings and based on that a pol-icy will be formulated. Jarawaswill be dealt as per their will. Ifthey want to come and join, wewon't stop, but we have to know

what changes are happening intheir society and what are theiraspirations? We cannot decidefor them. We have to empowerthem so that they can expoundtheir viewpoint. We cannotimpose any vision on them.However, there cannot be anyfear that their numbers are com-ing down.

SSAANNDDHHYYAA:: IItt iiss ssaaiidd tthhaatt wwee hhaavveeaabbuunnddaanntt vvaarriieettyy ooff mmaarriinnee wweeaalltthh iinnoouurr oocceeaann.. HHooww ccaann wwee eexxppllooiitt tthheevvaasstt mmaarriinnee rreessoouurrcceess??

One-third of India's ExclusiveEconomic Zone falls under thejurisdiction of Andaman andNicobar Islands. We should havebeen one of the biggest centres ofexport for fisheries. But, our tra-ditional fishermen only fish inthe coastal waters, where thecatch is very limited. Moreoverwe do not have continental shelf.Keeping these limitations inmind, in 2010, we launched TunaMission because there is hugereserve of Blue-fin Tuna in thedeep sea. Those interested inbuilding big trawlers, we are pro-viding subsidy upto 25 per cent.Moreover, we are going to putfish aggregating devices (FAD)which will also increase fishcatch. If Tuna Mission turns suc-cessful, we will be able to exportfish from the Islands and it willbring more revenue as well asemployment. Right now, its inearly implementation stage andwe cannot forecast the successrate, but it remains our priority.

SSNNEEHHAA:: MMyy qquueessttiioonn iiss aabboouutt cclleeaannllii--nneessss iinn tthhee cciittyy.. EEvveenn tthhoouugghh wwee aarreekknnoowwnn aass ggrreeeenn ppaarraaddiissee,, mmoosstt ooff tthheeppllaacceess aarree vveerryy uunncclleeaann,, wwhhiicchh sseennddss aawwrroonngg mmeessssaaggee.. WWhhaatt sstteeppss hhaavveebbeeeenn iinniittiiaatteedd bbyy tthhee aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn ttookkeeeepp tthhee IIssllaannddss ssaanniittiizzeedd aanndd cclleeaann??

We have elected bodies at vil-lage as well as town level. Wehave PBMC in Port Blair townand Panchayats in village level.Sanitation is the job given to theelected bodies. They are sup-posed to collect house tax. Theyalso get a lot of grant in aid fromthe Administration. So, on onehand, I can just say, sorry I cannotdo anything about it. It's theresponsibility of the elected bod-ies. But no, we are very con-cerned about it. We are workingwith them very pro-actively howto improve. We are trying tolocate better spots for disposal ofwaste in Port Blair town and sur-roundings, which includes segre-gation of waste into degradableand non-degradable. We are alsoworking with Panchayats at dif-ferent parts if they are willing todo so to give them extra financialhelp as well as to enable them todo the processing in a better way.Garbage disposal is a major prob-lem in the Islands. Today, it mightnot appear to be a problem, butas our lifestyles are changing, weare adopting more consumer

habits, consuming more tetrapacks, more plastic bottles andthis is becoming a problem. Andthroughout we are working withthe elected bodies, how toimprove the quality of sanitationservices.

MMAAMMTTAA:: WWhhaatt wwiillll bbee tthheeAAddmmiinniissttrraattiivvee sseettuupp ooff tthhiiss IIssllaannddss..SShhaallll wwee hhaavvee aann AAsssseemmbbllyy oorr wwee wwiillllccoonnttiinnuuee wwiitthh tthhee pprreesseenntt ssyysstteemm??

You are asking this question toa wrong person. I am a govern-ment servant. My job is to imple-ment government policies. Whatthe Government of India wantshere as system of governance isbeyond my purview. As a privatecitizen, I can have some views,but as Chief Secretary, I cannothave such views. Even if I havemy views, I cannot express it inpublic. It would be violation ofconduct rules. Sure, there isdemocracy everywhere. We haveelected bodies here. What finalshape it would attain will bedecided by the government ofIndia and its leadership. I won'tbe able to comment on it.

SSNNEEHHAA:: TThheerree aarree mmaannyy rreemmoottee aarreeaassiinn oouurr IIssllaannddss,, wwhheerree tthheerree iiss nnoo rrooaaddccoonnnneeccttiivviittyy eevveenn aafftteerr 5500 yyeeaarrss ooffIInnddeeppeennddeennccee.. FFoorr eegg.. NNiisscchhiinnttppuurr,,JJaaggaannnnaatthh DDeerraa,, GGaanneesshh NNaaggaarr wwhhiicchhccoommeess uunnddeerr DDiigglliippuurr TTeehhssiill.. WWhhaatt iissyyoouurr ssttrraatteeggyy ttoo oovveerrccoommee tthhiiss iinn tthheenneexxtt nniinnee yyeeaarrss??

Mainly, our aim is to connectevery place. But, some of the vil-lages that you have mentionedwere not settlement villages.They were forest encroachments,which were later recognized asrevenue villages. To make roadsto these villages require lot oflegal procedures due to reserveforest and the creeks. But wher-ever possible roads are beingconstructed and I think there ishardly any habitation left outwhich will not have access tocommunications. If there is noway to lay road, definitely ferryservice has been initiated. As youmentioned, Jagannath Dera,wherever possible roads arebeing made. The process of iden-tifying the alignment and envi-ronment impact assessments arebeing done which needsapproval and dereservation ofreserve forests under Forest Act.All these are very long process,which as the Admn, we are com-mitted to follow. We will definite-ly follow these policies and seethat all these places get connect-ed as soon as possible.

In fact it was a great pleasure tolisten to the youth of Andamansand to know their aspirations,the challenges ahead them andtheir concerns. If we don't getsuch feedback, our plans willhave weaknesses. As I said, wecannot decide for the Jarawas,no government can plan withoutthe inputs, suggestions and ideasof its citizens.

Losers Breeding Ground

PAUPER’S LOG |ABU ARSH

The moment, schooling forour kids comes to mind, theonly option we yearn for is

admissions in a big Private PublicSchool. Top of the list are theconvents followed by other pri-vately run educational institu-tions. Government run schoolsare thought to be for the lessprivileged. Getting our wardsinto Private Schools is an exer-cise not many would forget forthe rest of their lives. The schoolwe send our kids is supposedlyindicative of our social status andclout. For admissions, no stone isleft unturned, be it using recom-mendations, overnight teachingtiny tots etiquette lessons, mug-ging up alphabets, identifyingcolours or naming objects. Forthe kids' interviews, parents aredressed up at their best andappear more cultured or wealthythan they actually are. Anydemand for capitation or smallfavours for the institution arealways handy. Of late peoplewith other skills and utilities likemason, carpenter, welder, elec-tricians or mechanics can outdoa Doctor or an Engineer postedat long south or extreme north.The more nearer the utilities, thebetter is the chance of ones wardgetting through the interviews.Our tiny tots fumble and stam-mer through this scrutiny givingtheir best shot. As the seats arelimited, dropped jaws far out-number the gleaming faces onseeing the list of successful can-didates.

Kids get ready for their journeyinto the new world of learningand acquiring knowledge.Parents dream big for them andhope one day their wards willmake Papa proud. For kids "MyDaddy is the Strongest" is taken abit more seriously than it oughtto be, as it's taught in school. Verysoon it becomes more of aca-demics for the Mommy andDaddy than their wards. Anyattempt by the kids themselvesto complete an assignmentleaves them with fewer markscompared to ones done byDaddy's or their assistants. In theparent teacher meets, parentskick themselves for not payingattention to the kids' educationby completing their child'sworks, unlike the other proudparents who walk away with allthe laurels. Kids get introducedto moral science and charity.These schools charge hefty feesbut every other day there is adump box collection for theneedy. Social service week car-

ries instructions neatly typedasking for goodies for the lessprivileged which even the moreprivileged dare use in this dayand age of rising curve in priceindex. The Strongest Daddy'spart away with big bills for thedump box with our kids com-plaining about Maam's and Miss'patting those cool kids for theirgenerosity and allots them moreno of stars. Annual days are daysand weeks, which keep the par-ents on their toes buying dressesand accessories for a role of alamp post or tree planted in acorner for a single scene. Thelead role invariably goes towards of Strongest Daddy's. Topstudent honours would also goto the same multitalented kids.Their proud parents would havetears in their eyes occupying thefront row seats next to the princi-pal and Chief Guest. So much sofor the right to education andCCE pattern.

The same grooming goes intotheir senior years at school withthe Boards exams looming large.Assignments now have to bedone through outsourcing.Professional artists and modelproject designers are to be hired.Shabby self made attempts bynormal students are not worthyof centre stage. Stylised uniformsand gelled hair with spikes arethe proprietary of the wellhealed, not to be tried by normalkids. Gangs of guys operate withthe spoilt students having moremembers from outside schoolthan among classmates. Latestmobile phones with wi fi are intheir pockets at all times withnormal kids sulking for even anelusive Samsung Guru. Gradesare not a problem with internalmarks already in the kitty with-out much hassle. The utilitiesavailable at their Dad's disposalhelp in enhancing the moral ofthese all rounder students, mak-ing them recipients of teacher'spampering. If that is not all, theirDad's would do the impossible-leak the Board Question Papers.A few of these Dad's may be cool-ing their heals in a jail but theirkids would still become Doctorsas arrangements have beenmade for any capitation fees inthe world. Our schools havebecome breeding ground for los-ers. A normal child's psyche andconfidence is given a constantbattering from the day he startsschooling to the day he passesout. Where does the blame lie- Inus, as we have allowed this sys-tem to flourish.

6 |edit|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 02 DECEMBER 2011

02 December 2011 | Vol 35 Issue 20

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

The Fate of Tsunami Affected Farmers

TThhee IIssllaanndd eeccoonnoommyy iiss ffoorreemmoosstt nnoott aann aaggrraarriiaann eeccoonnoommyy.. BBuutt,, mmoossttooff tthhee ccoommmmuunniittiieess,, bbaarrrriinngg aa ffeeww,, hhaadd aa ssttiinntt iinn aaggrriiccuullttuurree ffoorr ssoommeessppaann ooff ttiimmee dduurriinngg tthhee sseettttlleemmeenntt hheerree.. FFrroomm llooccaallss ttoo tthhee rreecceenntt

sseettttlleerrss,, eevveerryyoonnee ttrriieedd aaggrriiccuullttuurree ffoorr ssuusstteennaannccee dduurriinngg tthhee eeaarrllyy ppeerriiooddaanndd ggrraadduuaallllyy sshhiifftteedd ttoo ootthheerr vvooccaattiioonnss aass aanndd wwhheenn ooppppoorrttuunniittiieess pprree--sseenntteedd bbeeffoorree tthheemm.. TThheeyy mmaayy hhaavvee ttaakkeenn ttoo ffaarrmmiinngg dduurriinngg tthhee eeaarrllyy sseett--ttlleemmeennttss,, bbuutt nnooww,, tthheerree iiss aa mmaajjoorr sshhiifftt iinn tthheeiirr vvooccaattiioonn.. AAnndd ttoo ffiinndd tthheerreeaassoonn iiss nnoott vveerryy ddiiffffiiccuulltt..

TThheeyy wweerree rraatthheerr ffoorrcceedd ttoo bbee ffaarrmmeerrss,, jjuusstt ffoorr tthhee ssaakkee ooff ffeeeeddiinnggtthheemmsseellvveess.. IInn 11885588,, wwhheenn tthhee ffiirrsstt bbaattcchh ooff ccoonnvviiccttss//ffrreeeeddoomm ffiigghhtteerrss,,wweerree ddeeppoorrtteedd hheerree,, tthheeyy wweerree eennggaaggeedd iinn cclleeaarriinngg tthhee ffoorreesstt ffoorr mmaakkiinnggtthhee ppllaaccee ffiitt ffoorr sseettttlleemmeenntt.. LLaatteerr,, nnoott aa tthhiinngg ttoo ddoo,, mmaannyy ooff tthheemm ssttaarrttffaarrmmiinngg aass aa vvooccaattiioonn,, aass iitt ddiirreeccttllyy ffeedd tthheemm,, wwiitthhoouutt ddeeppeennddiinngg oonn aannyy--bbooddyy eellssee.. FFoooodd wwaass tthhee mmaaiinn rreeaassoonn wwhhyy tthheeyy ttuurrnneedd ttoo aaggrriiccuullttuurree.. IIttwwoouulldd bbee pprreeppoosstteerroouuss ttoo tthhiinnkk ooff aannyy ootthheerr ccaauussee..

AAss tthhee sseettttlleemmeenntt ggrreeww aanndd mmoorree ppeeooppllee ffrroomm tthhee mmaaiinnllaanndd jjooiinneeddtthheemm,, mmoosstt ooff tthheemm hhaadd ttoo ttuurrnn ttoo tthheeiirr pprriimmaarryy vvooccaattiioonnss.. TThheerree wweerree bbaarr--bbeerrss,, ttaaiilloorrss,, aanndd mmaannyy ootthheerrss.. SSoommee ooff tthheemm wweerree aaccttuuaall ffaarrmmeerrss bbeeffoorreeddeeppoorrttaattiioonn,, lliikkee tthhee MMooppllaahhss ffrroomm KKeerraallaa,, wwhhoo wweerree ppeeaassaannttss wwoorrkkiinnggoonn llaannddss oowwnneedd bbyy tthhee NNaaiirrss iinn aanndd aarroouunndd MMaallaabbaarr rreeggiioonn.. AAss uussuuaall tthheeyyggrreeww ppaaddddyy iinn tthhee ffiieelldd cclleeaarreedd bbyy tthheemm.. TThhee SSiinnddhhiiss aanndd PPaatthhaannss aallssoohhaadd eexxppeerriieennccee ooff ffaarrmmiinngg.. TThheeyy mmoossttllyy ggrreeww ssuuggaarrccaannee iinn tthhee ffiieelldd.. IIff tthheeyyggrreeww ppaaddddyy,, iitt wwaass ttoo ffeeeedd tthhee mmiillcchhiinngg ccoowwss aanndd bbuuffffaallooss..

TThhee BBrriittiisshh hhaadd aallllootttteedd 55 aaccrreess ooff aaggrriiccuullttuurraall llaanndd aass ppaarrtt ooff tthhee aaggrrii--ccuullttuurraall ttiicckkeett ggiivveenn ttoo tthhee ccoonnvviiccttss//ffrreeeeddoomm ffiigghhtteerrss,, wwhhoo pprreeffeerrrreedd ttoossttaayy bbaacckk eevveenn aafftteerr tthheeyy wweerree rreelleeaasseedd.. AAggrriiccuullttuurree bbeeccaammee tthheeiirr pprriimmeemmeeaannss ttoo aaccqquuiirree ffoooodd.. EEdduuccaattiioonnaall ssttaattuuss wwaass aannootthheerr rreeaassoonn,, wwhhyy tthheeyyccoouulldd nnoott ttaakkee uupp aannyy ootthheerr pprrooffeessssiioonn..

LLaatteerr,, tthhrroouugghh vvaarriioouuss sseettttlleemmeenntt sscchheemmeess aannnnoouunncceedd bbyy tthheeGGoovveerrnnmmeenntt ooff IInnddiiaa,, ppeeooppllee ffrroomm EEaasstt BBeennggaall,, CCeeyylloonn,, KKeerraallaa,, BBuurrmmaaaanndd eexx--sseerrvviicceemmeenn ffrroomm PPuunnjjaabb aarrrriivveedd iinn hhoorrddeess aanndd sseettttlleedd aatt vvaarriioouussppllaacceess lliikkee,, DDiigglliippuurr,, MMaayyaabbuunnddeerr,, BBeettaappuurr,, vviillllaaggeess iinn SSoouutthh AAnnddaammaann,,KKaattcchhaall aanndd CCaammppbbeellll BBaayy..

WWiitthh aa ffeeww eexxcceeppttiioonnss,, tthhee mmaaiinn vvooccaattiioonn ooff tthheessee sseettttlleerrss wwaass aaggrriiccuull--ttuurree.. TThhee BBeennggaallii sseettttlleerrss iinn NNoorrtthh AAnnddaammaann,, aanndd EExx--sseerrvviicceemmeenn iinnCCaammppbbeellll BBaayy wweerree ffoorreemmoosstt aaggrriiccuullttuurriissttss aanndd aarree ssttiillll eennggaaggeedd iinn tthheessaammee.. BBuutt ttoo ssppeeaakk aabboouutt tthhee eeaarrllyy ccoonnvviiccttss//ffrreeeeddoomm ffiigghhtteerrss,, tthheeyy wweerreennoott sskkiilllleedd ffaarrmmeerrss.. AAnndd iinn tthhee dduuee ccoouurrssee,, nneevveerr wwaanntteedd tthheeiirr cchhiillddrreenn ttooggoo ffaarrmmiinngg..

AAfftteerr iinnddeeppeennddeennccee,, eeaarrllyy sseettttlleerrss aass nnoott iinntteerreesstteedd iinn tthheeiirr ppaaddddyyffiieellddss,, nneevveerr ttrriieedd aannyy iinnnnoovvaattiivvee mmeetthhooddss oorr iinnttrroodduucceedd aannyy ggrroouunndd--bbrreeaakkiinngg tteecchhnnoollooggyy ttoo iinnccrreeaassee tthhee yyiieelldd.. IItt wwaass jjuusstt ppaaddddyy dduurriinngg mmoonn--ssoooonn aanndd aa ffeeww vveeggeettaabblleess dduurriinngg ssuummmmeerr.. TThheeyy nneevveerr eexxppoosseedd tthheeiirr cchhiill--ddrreenn ttoo aaggrriiccuullttuurree.. IInnsstteeaadd,, eedduuccaattiinngg tthheemm wweerree tthheeiirr mmaajjoorr ccoonncceerrnn..GGrraadduuaallllyy,, tthhee ppaaddddyy ffiieellddss ssttaarrtteedd rreemmaaiinniinngg uunnccuullttiivvaatteedd ffoorr yyeeaarrss.. AAssggeettttiinngg eedduuccaattiioonn wwaass eeaassyy,, aanndd ffiinnddiinngg eemmppllooyymmeenntt wwiitthh tthhee aaddmmiinniiss--ttrraattiioonn eeaassiieerr,, mmaannyy ffaammiilliieess hhaadd oonnee oorr ttwwoo ppeerrssoonnss eemmppllooyyeedd iinn ddiiffffeerr--eenntt ddeeppaarrttmmeennttss ooff tthhee aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonnss..

EEvveenn tthhee uunneedduuccaatteedd aanndd ccoonnsseerrvvaattiivvee MMooppllaahhss,, ssttaarrtteedd sseennddiinngg tthheeiirrcchhiillddrreenn ttoo sscchhoooollss aanndd oonnccee sscchhoooolliinngg ccoommpplleetteess,, tthheeyy aallssoo ttooookk ttoo ggoovv--eerrnnmmeenntt jjoobbss.. AAmmoonngg tthhee eeaarrllyy sseettttlleerrss,, oonnllyy tthhee ffiirrsstt oorr sseeccoonndd ggeenneerraattiioonnwweerree ffaarrmmeerrss.. TThhee nneeww ggeenneerraattiioonn mmaayy nnoott bbee aawwaarree tthhaatt tthheeiirr ggrraannddffaa--tthheerrss eevveenn oowwnn aaggrriiccuullttuurraall llaanndd.. IInn tthhiiss wwaayy,, mmoorree llaanndd rreemmaaiinneedduunnffaarrmmeedd.. NNoobbooddyy wwaass ccoommppllaaiinniinngg.. EEvveenn tthhee aaggrriiccuullttuurree ddeeppaarrttmmeennttwwaass nnoott ccoonncceerrnneedd..

AAss aann aalltteerrnnaattiivvee,, vvoolluunnttaarriillyy,, sshhaarreeccrrooppppiinngg ssyysstteemm ssttaarrtteedd eemmeerrggiinngg..TThhee iinnfflluuxx aass wweellll aass wwiiddee uunneemmppllooyymmeenntt aammoonngg tthhee nneeww eennttrraannttss ttoo tthheeIIssllaannddss ppaavveedd wwaayy ttoo sshhaarriinngg tthhee ccrroopp bbeettwweeeenn tthheemm aanndd tthhee llaannddoowwnneerr..

AAlltthhoouugghh aaggrriiccuullttuurree aammoonngg tthhee oolldd iinnhhaabbiittaannttss hhaass ttaakkeenn aa bbaacckksseeaatt,,tthhee llaanndd iiss pprreecciioouuss ffoorr tthheemm,, aass iitt iiss tthhee oonnllyy tthhiinngg tthheeyy ccaann bbeeqquueeaatthh ttootthheeiirr ccoommiinngg ggeenneerraattiioonn.. TThhee llaanndd wwhhiicchh nnooww lliieess iinnuunnddaatteedd bbyy tthhee ttssuunnaa--mmii ooff 22000044..

AAfftteerr sseevveenn yyeeaarrss,, tthhee ffaarrmmeerrss aarree ssttiillll wwaaiittiinngg ffoorr eemmaanncciippaattiioonn,, wwhhiicchhsseeeemmss ttoo bbee nnoott ccoommiinngg.. IInnsstteeaadd ooff sshheeddddiinngg ccrrooccooddiillee tteeaarrss oonn tthheeaannnniivveerrssaarryy ooff tthhee ffaatteeffuull ddaayy,, iitt wwoouulldd bbee aapptt ffoorr tthhee aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn ttooccoommppeennssaattee tthhee ffaarrmmeerrss aanndd cclloossee tthhee cchhaapptteerr bbeeffoorree nneexxtt aannnniivveerrssaarryyccoommeess..

SACRED | SPACE

Avoyaging ship was wrecked during a storm atsea and only two of the men on it were able toswim to a small, desert like island.

The two survivors who have been a good friends,not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had noother recourse but to pray to God. However, to findout whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed todivide the territory between them and stay on oppo-site sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The nextmorning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on hisside of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. Theother man’s parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and hedecided to pray for a wife. The next day, another shipwas wrecked, and the only survivor was a womanwho swam to his side of the land. On the other sideof the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes,more food. The next day, like magic, all of these weregiven to him. However, the second man still hadnothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that heand his wife could leave the island. In the morning,he found a ship docked at his side of the island. Thefirst man boarded the ship with his wife and decidedto leave the second man on the island.

He considered the other man unworthy to receiveGod’s blessings, since none of his prayers had beenanswered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man hearda voice from heaven booming, “Why are you leavingyour companion on the island?”

“My blessings are mine alone, since I was the onewho prayed for them,” the first man answered. “Hisprayers were all unanswered and so he does notdeserve anything.”

“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “Hehad only one prayer, which I answered. If not forthat, you would not have received any of my bless-ings.”

“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “What didhe pray for that I should owe him anything?”

“He prayed that all your prayers be answered “

The Ship of Friendship

BYPANKAJ SEKHSARIA

If a certain line of beliefs and his-torical thinking has its way, theAndaman and Nicobar Islands

could well see a monumental shiftin their present namescape.Theisland named after Hugh Rose,the man who finally corneredRani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi in 1858,could soon be named Laxmi BaiDweep or maybe Rani JhansiDweep. Havelock Island namedafter the British general whoretook Lucknow could well benamed Nana Sahib Dweep andthe island chain itself should bethe Shaheed and Swaraj Islandsbecause that is what SubhasChandra Bose wanted them to be.The Rani of Jhansi or Nana Sahibmay have known little of theislands (or even that they existed)but that surely is of little conse-quence.

This group of 500 odd islands,scattered in an arc in the Bay ofBengal, is certainly fertile territoryfor a massive, even lip-smackingrenaming exercise - Tatiya Tope,Mangal Pandey, Subhas ChandraBose, Veer Savarkar... the list isendless; one's imagination theonly limitation and why not -reclamation of one's history, afterall, is believed to be one of themost important and effective toolsof nation building. There is onehitch however, a question thatrenaming enthusiasts might wantto first consider - How does onereclaim what was never yours inthe first place?

The A&N islands, located far

away from mainland India(roughly 1,200 km from Chennai)can only be considered a gift theBritish left India when the empiredisintegrated. There are undeni-able connections of India's free-dom movement with the islandsbest symbolised by the revolt of1857 and the Cellular Jail. Therecan be no denying that and nei-ther can one deny the close bondsthat a large section of the countryfeels with these islands, but all puttogether this history does not gobeyond 150 years. We might wantto rename Havelock Island in thememory of Nana Sahib, but is itnot worth asking whether theisland that is today calledHavelock had some earlier nametoo?

The Andaman and NicobarIslands have been the traditionalhome of a number of aboriginalcommu-nities - the GreatAndamanese, Jarawa, Onge andSentinelese (in the Andamans),the Nicobaris and the Shompen(in the Nicobars) that have beenliving here for nearly 50,000years. The 150 years that we wantto claim now is like the blink of aneye in comparison. Injustices havebeen done and continue to bedone to these communities in amanner that has few parallels inIndia.Their lands have beentaken, their forests converted toplywood and agricultural planta-tions, and the fabric of their soci-eties so violently torn apart thatextinction looms on the horizonfor many of them. The Great

Andamanese, who were at least5,000 individuals when the 1857uprising happened, are today lessthan 40 people. The Onge whowere counted at about 600 in the1901 census are only a 100 peopletoday. There are critical issues ofsurvival that these communitiesare faced with problems that arecomplex and will be difficult toresolve. If indeed there is energyand interest in doing something inthe islands and for the islandersthese are lines that we need to bethinking on.

These are people, like indige-nous peoples everywhere, whohave their own histories, theirown societies, and yes, their ownnames for the islands and places.First the British called them some-thing else and now we want to callthem something else again. Ifindeed the places have to berenamed, should not an effort firstbe made to find out what the orig-inal people had first named them,why they were so named, whattheir significance was and whichnames are still in use by them.Should that not be the work ofscholarship and historical stud-ies? It would be a far more chal-lenging and worthwhile exercise,and perhaps not a very difficultone either, because a lot of infor-mation does already exist. If thereal and complete history of theislands is ever written, the Britishwould not be more than a pageand India could only be a para-graph. How's that for a perspec-tive and a context?

Forgotten IslandsThe Renaming of Islands Controversy

7 |home|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 02 DECEMBER 2011

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BYSTAFFREPORTER

When the administrationruns out of promises andsolutions, they send the

Tehsildars and Policemen tonegotiate. Waiting seven yearswith a bundle of hollow promiseshurled at them by the administra-tion, the tsunami-affected farm-ers once again hit the roaddemanding distribution of the Rs130 crore compensation packagelying with the administration.

The tsunami affected farmers ofSouth Andaman sat on a one-daytoken dharna at Tiranga Park on24 November demanding theadministration to immediatelydisburse the compensation pack-age of Rs 130 crores sent by theCentral Govt. Making theirdemands wide and clear, APMohammed, President, GramSudhar Sangham cautioned theadministration not to play withtheir sentiments. He once againreiterated the long-forgottendemands of the tsunami farmerswhose land is submerged under

seawater. He also announced thatthe farmers will once again gatherat Tiranga Park on the seventhanniversary of Tsunami to remindthe administration about thepromises made to them.

Speaking on the occasion,Manickam, Ex-Pradhan,Wimberly Gunj said that thefarmers are left in the lurch with-out any clear explanation. He saidthat the farmers had demandedalternative land, but the adminis-tration failed to convince theCentral Empowered Committeeand later sought cash compensa-tion.

Abdul Azeez, Pradhan StewratGunj asked the administration tomake public the minutes of IDAmeeting held in June 2011? Healso demanded a relief packagefor the farmers without furtherdelay.

Saraswathi Narayan, Ex-Pradhan Sippighat also spoke onthe occasion. She said that theadministration has forgotten theold inhabitants of the Islands,whereas those tenants who just

Tsunami-affected Farmerson Warpath Once Again

Mohammed H Jadwet Bereaved

Smti Zubaida Hashim Jadwet, mother of Shri Mohammed HJadwet, Past President, Andaman Chamber of Commerce &Industry, Managing Partner, M/s Jadwet Trading Company

and Director, MAK Logistics Private Ltd breathed her last on 2 Dec2011 at 5.00 PM. She was aged 73 years and had been ailing forsometime.

New Appointments in BJP

RMohan, State President, Bharatiya Janata Party, ANI hasappointed Shri Haridas Chattopadhyay, BJP's AdministrativeOfficer and Smti E Pushpa as State Convener Cultural Cell and

State Convener Training cell of BJP,ANI respectively with immedi-ate effect. The State President Yuva Morcha has appointed SmtiSavitri Tirkey as State Vice President of Yuva Morcha.

Cancer Screening and Life Style Camp

INHS Dhanvantari and SHO(PB) conducted a cancer screeningcamp for families of serving personnel as well as local populationof the Islands on 3rd Dec 2011. The camp was conducted as part

of Navy Week celebrations. A team of doctors from INHSDhanvantari consisting of specialists and medical officers conduct-ed the day long camp from 0830-1330 hrs. Patients were screenedfor breast, gynecological, oral, ENT cancers and abdominal tumors.Ultrasound examination and other screening tests were carried outduring the camp. The people attending the camp were educatedabout various warning signs of cancer, benefits of screening andearly detection as well as various lifestyle diseases. The families ofserving personnel as well as local population of the Islands utilizedthese services. INHS Dhanvantari conducts cancer screening campsevery year as part of health promotion and positive health cam-paign at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

NEWS BITES

lost their household items weregiven shelters and free ration for aperiod of five years.

Hamza, a farmer from StewartGunj warned the administrationthat 26 December will be a newtsunami, when the affected farm-ers will gather in large numbers toprotest the attitude of the admin-

istration towards the farmers.Rajesh Lall, General Secretary,

Gram Sudhar Sangham spokeabout the Rajarhat HousingScam, where land was allotted fortsunami victims by West Bengalgovernment and is being divertedby land mafia.

Once upon a time there were only a few grocery shops in PortBlair. Ships would ply once in a month and occasionally, twice amonth. All the grocery items would reach Port Blair either from

Calcutta or Chennai including salt, 501 bar shop, talcum powders,medicines and others. It would also bring Potatoes and Onion.

Just imagine the most sought after vegetable-Potato- which is aninseparable part of Indian cuisine, available in only 3-4 shops in PortBlair market!

Our protagonist's mother would purchase 10-12 Kgs. of Onion andPotatoes at one go and keep them under the wooden cot on spread-over sand. No one knew when the next lot of potatoes would be avail-able in the market that too after such a physical and mental torture!

She would check the potatoes every morning and separate the 5-6rotten potatoes. She would then peel off those rotten potatoes, cut thespoiled portions and cook them with other vegetables or just a plainpotato curry. But naturally one would taste the bad taste or hardenedportions of the stained potatoes. And this habit of his mother contin-ued daily, and, as a result, the family had to eat rotten potatoes everyday.

Once when he grew up and became capable of exhibiting certainreaction, he boldly objected to this habit of selecting rotten potatoesevery morning for cooking. He suggested ' Maa, why don't you throw5-6 rotten potatoes for good and get rid of such rotten potatoes forev-er. We can then daily get the good taste of cooked vegetables'.

Unfortunately his mother did not give heed to his suggestions untilhe left the islands to take up higher studies in mainland. 'It is not pos-sible to waste even 5-6 where these items are so scarce and even oth-erwise, I can't afford' was his mother's response.

—— MMuussaaffiirr

Rotten Potatoes

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SUNRISE OVER ROSS: The early morning sun over Ross Island on a clear morning