THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS

TTHHEE LLIIGGHHTT OOFFAndamansVOL: 36 nn ISSUE: 02 nnMONDAY nn 15 OCTOBER 2012 nn PORT BLAIR nn Rs. 5.00 PAGES 12 nn RNI No. 28480/75 nn POSTAL REGN NO. PBLRNP/08/2008-2010

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T H E W E E K L Y V I E W S M A G A Z I N E

LAND SHARKS ON

BHARATPUR BEACH - NEIL ISLAND LAND DEAL

PAWARFULCONNECTIONS

Although there is nothing illegal about it, land sharks close totop-notch politicians of the country are busy engaged in grabbingrevenue land from Islanders for a pittance, and it is unfortunatethat the local settlers are in deep slumber where they are losingtheir land on a regular basis on one pretext or the other.Lack ofRegulations to check alienation of land is going to change theface of the Islands in no time, if the trend continues unabated.

LAND SHARKS ON

PROWLCONGRESS

V/sCONGRESS

TUSSLE OVER TUSK

VIPER ISLAND ROW:EIA IN HASTE!

UNITED FRONT FORASSEMBLY

2 |news | PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

BYDEBKUMARBHADRA

Every time I cross theChatham Bridge, the Jetty-cum-Vehicle Ferry Ramp

adjoining the bridge invariablycaptures my attention towards it.The more I try to look the otherway, the more I feel drawntowards its abandoned status.The jetty inaugurated on22/02/2002, despite every sin-cere effort, failed to serve thepurpose for which it has beenconstructed. In the present arti-cle I will not be going into theinconveniences the passengersfaced nor would I go into theoperational difficulties whicheven the seasoned boat mastersencountered in berthing whilethe jetty was put to use for a briefperiod. But I would certainlymention, had a proper site surveybeen conducted before construc-tion of the jetty, the massive blun-der could have been preventedfrom being committed.

The simplest tool that couldhave helped authorities take aninformed decision on the suit-ability (or otherwise) of the par-ticular site for construction of thejetty is a "Wind Rose" (nowCompass Rose). It basically givesa graphic view of how windspeed and direction are typicallydistributed at a particular loca-tion. As shown in the figure, eachconcentric circle represents a dif-ferent frequency from zero at thecenter to increasing frequenciesat the outer circles. Length ofeach "spoke" is related to fre-quency of the wind blowing froma particular direction per unittime and the color-coded bandsshow wind speed ranges over 16cardinal directions, namelyNorth (N), North of North East,(NNE), North East (NE), East ofNorth East (ENE), East (E) andso on.

From the wind rose it is evi-dent, directions between WNWand WSW is going to be "Calm"whereas S and NNW directionsare going to be "windy" location.This foretells planners that struc-tures facing S and NNW willencounter speedy winds thusconstruction in this directionmust adopt necessary safe-guards. In case, planners arelooking for calm region, theyneed to go for location betweenWNW and WSW directions. Thuscompiling wind rose constitutes apreliminary step in the planning

stage for construction of airportrunways, bridges, highrise build-ings and Jetties as well.

In case of Chatham causewayjetty, overlooking this simpleplanning tool, led to constructionof a jetty right in the path ofprevalent wind, rendering thejetty unfit for the very purpose ithas been constructed. Precioustime, scarce resources and publicfunds gone into making of theChatham causeway Jetty allended up creating a colossalwaste of magnanimous propor-tions.

One may think this is just oneof its kind incidents.Unfortunately this is not "one ofits kind" but in fact is "one"among "a spate of incidents"wherein one or the other manda-tory planning tool has been over-looked. The proposedEntertainment Hub at ViperIslands as reported by The Lightof Andamans (Vol 36, Issue 01) isthe latest addition to the long list.

Going by the instant report onecan conclude construction ofCasino, Man Made Beach,Luxury Resorts, Cable car, 50Berth Yacht Marina, 30 BeddedHotel and a variety of other neverthought of structures coveringthe entire length, breadth andthe seas surrounding Viper islandwould require widespread land-scaping and large scale felling ofnaturally gown trees. WhereasMay 2002 Apex Court rulingrestricting felling of naturallygrown trees is already in the pub-lic domain.

Here it is worth quoting, theEnvironment (Protection) Rules,1986 imposes certain restrictionsand prohibitions on new projectsor activities, or on the expansionor modernization of existingprojects or activities based ontheir potential environmentalimpacts in accordance with theobjectives of NationalEnvironment Policy as approvedby the Union Cabinet on 18th

May, 2006. The tourism relatedproject on Viper Island is noexception.

Tools prescribed to forecastimpacts the project is likely tohave on the environment includethe Prefeasibility Report, manda-tory Environmental ImpactAssessment Report (EIA), PublicConsultation, and priorEnvironmental Clearance fromthe Ministry of Environment andForests. Additionally clearancefrom Ministry of Defense is also apre-requisite in this instant, sincethe project is planned neardefense establishments.

The extant EIA Notificationpublished in the Gazette of India,Extraordinary, Part-II, andSection 3, Sub-section (ii),Ministry of Environment andForests, New Delhi dated 14thSeptember, 2006 lists all tourismprojects between 200m and500m of high water line and atlocations with an elevation ofmore than 1000m with invest-ment of more than Rs 5 crores, asthose requiring priorEnvironmental Clearance.

Therefore the tourism projecttitled Entertainment Hub atViper Island including 50 BerthYacht Marina and 30 BeddedHotel must go through the proce-dural formalities mandated forEnvironmental Clearance. Thisalso means EnvironmentalImpact Assessment of the entireViper Islands is required to becarried out by Project Proponents(A&N Administration) whichmust include Public Consultation(Public Hearing at the project siteor in close proximity and obtain-ing responses in writing).

Since a short cut route hasbeen charted surpassing manda-tory assessments tools and con-sultation mechanisms, it perhapsremained hidden that, Viperbeing a tiny Island, its environ-ment including natural forests,marine environment and theentire biodiversity associatedwith the island ecosystems areunique, fragile and sensitive tohuman interference. Since theproposed project envisages largescale landscaping, land use andmeddling with marine environ-ment, the project is bound toimpact the islands unique ecosys-tem. Therefore apprehensionraised against the project is onlyobvious.

Further during the past fewyears these islands witnessed acontrast in the approach of islandAdministration specifically intaking up projects and imple-mentation of rule provisionsrelating to safety of environment.It is seen projects relating totourism are being expeditedwhereas those concerning localresidents gets held up at one orthe other stage. One of the glar-ing example is the long pendingdemand for a bridge connecting

Bambooflat and Chatham whichhas a direct bearing on the day-to-day life of more than a quarterof Islands population residing inrural South Andaman. As soon asNIT for feasibility study of thesaid bridge was released, one ofthe Administrations wing isknown to have objected thebridge citing navigational prob-lem. Thus the all importantbridge has been shelved, withouteven conducting a feasibilitystudy.

Also fisherfolks engaged insmall (un-mechanised) dinghyfishing in the sheltered waternear Haddo-Chatham-Dundaspoint and nearby sea areaccused for blocking the naviga-tional channel; harassed andshoved away. Ironically the sameset of officials are either main-taining a tactical silence or play-ing a proactive role facilitatingproposed 50 Berth Yacht Marinaand a 30 Bedded Luxury Hotel atViper, which certainly wouldattract large scale movement ofyachts and boats occupying thenavigational channel.

Similarly proposed construc-tion of Ice plant at Hope Town,rural road from Shoal Bay -15 tothe revenue village at Shoal Bay-19, extraction of timber, seasand, quarry products forbonafide local consumption areall blocked for environmentaland other administrative rea-sons. Ironically the same set ofofficials now remain oblivious ofthe Viper Island project, surpass-ing mandatory planning proce-dures and clearances whicheventually would result in re-writing the geography (and thehistory) of the entire Viper Islandpermanently.

In the current administrativesetup where there exists no plat-form for Islanders to raise theirconcerns, doing away withPublic Consultation (despitemandated under EIA rules) notonly alienates local population, itattracts unnecessary media glareand public outcry. This is exactlywhat happened in the case ofproposed Entertainment Hub atViper Islands. Since conceptiontill selective implementation ofthe project, local Islanders havebeen kept at bay. Thus Islanderssentimentally attached to ViperIslands for its role in India's free-dom struggle and their fear ofcultural degradation due toincreased presence of foreignersin their sacred land remainedunheard.

It has repeatedly been toldIslanders are the target benefac-tors of such development proj-ects and schemes. If it is so theIslander's deserves to be involvedand heard by the Administration(project proponents). Alienationof locals would result in con-frontationist approach besidescasting serious aspersions.

Viper Island Row: No Public Consultation

EIA in Haste!

3 |news|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

BYZUBAIRAHMED

The tussle over the "tusks"seized by the police seems tohave come to an end with

the Divisional Forest Officer,Mayabunder Division stating in apress note that the contrabandseized are not elephant tusks.

"A wildlife offence in respect ofelephant tusk (as claimed bypolice) case has been detected bythe Central Crime Station, PortBlair and was handed over to theRange Officer Mayabunder onSept. 30 for taking further action.On the same day, the RangeOfficer, Mayabunder intimatedabout the seizure of property tothe CJM Court Mayabunder. TheCourt registered a Criminal Caseagainst the offence. Meanwhile,the samples seized were sent toSr. Veterinary Officer, Webi,Mayabunder for its analysis. TheSenior Veterinary Officer,Veterinary Hospital, Webi hasreported that the sample pro-duced is not ivory. The sampleappears as bone and not the tuskof an Elephant." The press notesaid.

As per the release, the case isunder investigation and furthernecessary action will be taken asper the provision of the law.

Subsequent to the press noteissued by the Andaman andNicobar Police on seizure of ele-phant tusks worth Rs 1.70 croresand the detention of four personsof Diglipur, an implicit rift haddeveloped with forest depart-ment unwilling to accept thepolice version unless a lab test is

performed to certify whether theseized contraband is elephanttusk or not.

"As far as the preliminaryreport, we are convinced that it'snot elephant tusk. However, toget a scientific opinion about it wehave sent it to Wildlife Institute ofIndia," said Shashi Kumar, PCCFand Chief Wildlife Warden speak-ing to The Light of Andamans.

Divisional Forest Officer,Mayabunder Division hadechoed same statement soonafter the incident. He had toldLoA that they are no experts andthe seized materials needs to besent for a lab test. However, unof-ficially many forest officials reiter-ated that the material did notlook like elephant tusks but bonesof some marine mammal.

The Police team, who seizedthe contraband, preliminarilywent with the version of thedetainees, who claimed it to beelephant tusk and also had a storyto tell how they procured it. Theyeven put a value of about Rs 4lakhs per kg.

The press note issued by thepolice had said that the policeparty had recovered 3 pieces ofelephant tusks measuring - 1stpiece length -2.5 meter weight21.800 Kg, 2nd piece length 1.5meter weight -15.200 Kgs and3rd piece length -86 cm weight5.500 kg, total weight - 42.500Kgs from the possession of fourpersons namely Mr. Probir KumarBala R/o Subashgram, Mrs.Seema Halder R/o Subashgram,Mr. Sanjay Gain R/o Laxmipurand Mr. Ratan Biswas R/o

Radhanagar.The issue became controversial

when police published the valueof the seized tusks to be aroundRs 1.72 crores at Rs 4 lakhs per kgbased on the disclosure of thedetained persons. It is felt that thepolice department showed hastein declaring the seized materialas elephant tusk and even wentone step ahead and put a value toit.

"When an elephant with tusksis available for Rs 14-15 Lakhs,who will buy only tusks for Rs 1.7crores?" asks a Range Officer.

The police team after formali-ties had handed over the recov-ered properties along withdetained persons to RangeOfficer cum Assistant Wild LifeWarden, Mayabunder Range on30 Sept 2012 for further action.

"There are chances that thedetection or seizure by the policemight be wrong. It was the dutyof the Forest Dept to further theinvestigation. How did the ForestDept arrest the detained persons,if they were uncertain about theseized materials," asks a PoliceOfficer.

"Why did the police hurriedlyissue a press note without check-ing the facts?' countered a Forestofficial who doesn't want to benamed.

The Forest Dept without anyproper enquiry or investigationhad arrested the persons andeven presented them in court andtwo of them came out on bail,which once again brewed suspi-cion. It was widely alleged in themedia as well as on discussion

BYSTAFFREPORTER

On 28 March 2011, before theViper Yacht Marina and 30-room accommodation

agreement was signed, thereexisted an office memorandumissued by the Ministry of Finance,which categorically stated thatapproval of Union Cabinet for saleor long term lease of land belong-ing to the Government is required.This Order amends the OfficeMemorandum dated 25 June2010 reiterating the provisions ofRules 28 and 278 of GFR 2005,which makes express approval ofFinance Ministry essential for sale,lease of Govt assets or resources

and makes the approval of theCabinet in each case of sale orlong lease of land mandatory.

In the Viper Project, the ANI

Admn is learnt to have not soughtthe approval of the Cabinet andhas ignored the Memorandumand given the land for long lease

to the Reacon-PMM Marina con-sortium, in clear violation of theGeneral Finance Rules.

In the Office Memorandumissued by the Ministry with theapproval of the Finance Secretary,it clearly states that instances ofviolations have come to the noticeof the government where land inpossession and control of the gov-ernment is sought to be alienatedthrough means such as sale, leaseand that it has been observed thatthe value of the land has increasedtremendously, especially duringlast one or two decades. In thiscontext, Cabinet Secretariat hasinformed that a policy with regardto transfer or alienation of land

held by the Government or statu-tory authorities etc is beingframed by the Government andthat the Prime Minister hasapproved that in the meanwhileall the Ministries/Departmentswould seek specific approval ofthe Cabinet in each case of sale orlong term lease of land belongingto the Government.

In a correspondence to the PPPDivision of the Consultant, SatishMathur, Secretary Tourism hadclearly mentioned that the pro-posal does not attract the provi-sions of Policy on PPP mode andhad sought them to ignore it.

However, overlooking theapproval of Cabinet is in clear vio-lation apart from various otherbreaches by ANI Admn in the exe-cution of the Yacht Marina Projectin Viper Island.

Cabinet Approval Not Sought for Viper Project

groups that Forest Dept is actingflippant and is showing slightestinterest in the case.

It is also observed that theForest Department could haveout rightly denied that its not ele-phant tusk which could haveembarrassed the Police Dept. Toget away unscathed, it mighthave sent the contraband toWildlife Institute of India.

One of the reasons why ForestDept is on back foot is their dis-mal performance in detectingwildlife and forest crimes in theIslands. In majority of the cases, itis police department whichdetect the cases and hand it overto Forest Dept. Further, often theculprits are not apprehended bythe Forest Dept. They just seizethe materials.

A couple of months ago, adinghie with two live deer andvenison was seized at WrightMyo creek by the Forest Dept.The Dinghie has a registrationnumber, but the Dept is yet totrace the culprits.

Now, Dept of E&F has consti-tuted a wildlife protection squadin order to address wildlife &forests related offences under theoverall In-charge of AyyubHassan, ACF (WL). The squadwill be operational on 24 hrs basisand would liaise with concerned

authorities for prompt action.There is no dearth of forestoffences in the Islands with tim-ber scarcely available from theGovt-run mills.

Elephant tusk or whale bone,the debate might still continue tillthe report from Wildlife Instituteof India arrives. However, policeis still not discounting the versionthey could manage to get fromthe detainees, who had told thepolice that an elephant was killedby them at Diglipur and the headtaken to Landfall Island todecompose to get the tusk intactwithout any damage. And, a sen-ior police officer accepted that itwas premature to arrive at thefigure of Rs 1.72 crores. "We donot want to go for a clash with theForest Dept on this issue. Let thereport come and things willbecome clear," he said.

Till then its field day for animalrights activists and journalists toraise a finger against those envi-ronmentalists, who proposesrelocation or culling of the ele-phants from Interview Island,where the feral elephants havedone extensive damage to theforest ecology. The debate nowactively going on in variousforums about introduced, inva-sive and feral species is yet tocatch up with the Islanders.

Elephant Tusk: Bone of Contention

4 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

BYZUBAIR AHMED

Alienation of land from thelocal population is not just anethical issue. It needs serious

attention from the policymakersin the wake of massive land grabgoing on from North Andaman toSouth Andaman.

Highly placed sources revealthat a businessmen-duo from thecapital has been on the prowlsince 2006 for prime revenue landclose to pristine beaches startingfrom Diglipur to Hutbay in LittleAndaman. It is learnt that thisland mafia, based in the nationalCapital has already bought about300 acres of revenue land belong-ing to poor and vulnerableIslanders.

The modus-operandi is verysimple. Tired with the biddingand tender process on revenuesharing and long-term lease onfixed rental by the ANI Admn, nobig hotel chains are interested ininvesting in the Islands. Thewhole issue is the cumbersomeprocess of the ANI Admn with bot-tlenecks at every turn. Speakingto LOA, a senior official in the ANIAdmn said that the negativeapproach of the bureaucrats,inviting them to invest in theIslands on one hand and at thesame time washing off theirhands from any kind of assistancein getting the necessary clear-ances have been discouraging theinvestors to come to the Islands.

However, the land mafia closeto top politicians with high con-nections has been successful incircumventing the whole process

LAND SHARKS ON

PROWLAlthough there is nothing illegal about it, land sharks close to top-notch politicians of the country are busy engaged in grabbing revenueland from Islanders for a pittance,and it is unfortunate that the localsettlers are in deep slumber where they are losing their land on a reg-ular basis on one pretext or the other. Lack of any Regulations tocheck alienation of land is going to change the face of the Islands inno time, if the trend continues unabated.

and grabbing revenue land fromthe Islanders. The duo has foundan easy way out to help the hotelchains to come to the Islands.With prime property close to thebeaches in their possession, theyare today in a position to negoti-ate with big and famous hotelchains to come and buy land fromthem.

And, when the strings areattached to the Capital, allprocesses are eased for them toget commercialization of theland, they have purchased. Whenpoor Islanders run helter-skelterto get their 200 sq mtrs land com-mercialized, these big fishes neednot go through any burdensomeprocess. They get red carpet wel-come when a phone call from theCapital reaches the power corri-dors of the Islands.

The commercial conversion ofland has been a big issue for theIslanders for a long time. TheAndaman Chamber ofCommerce and Industry hadbeen vigorously pursuing thematter since tsunami. But, whocares for the Islands or theIslanders. It is alleged that therestriction on commercializationof land was put in place to put thebrakes on this businessman-duoand force them to negotiate at thehighest level for allowing thecommercialization. The restric-tion on commercialization of landwas lifted as soon as this mafia,who also have close links to theleading dynastic families in Delhiand in Punjab, could manage itfor their own advantage.However, the local industry ishappy that it has been a windfallfor them, not realizing the factthat the remote control of all theaffairs of the Islands lie some-where in Delhi and its vicinity.Perhaps the next time a ChiefMinister visits Port Blair the localpublic will be quicker to spot thehidden agenda.

The ongoing land grab in theIslands by top politicians of thecountry through different sourceshave started to raise many eye-brows recently. From Ross andSmith in Diglipur to Bada Balu inChidiyatapu and Hutbay, morethan 300 acres of prime revenueland owned by local populationhave been purchased by landmafia from the Capital.

In Rutland, another big fish hasbeen engaged in purchasing landfrom the settlers and when onefarmer resisted, he had lured thesettler by raising the price toabout Rs 50 lakhs for 5 acres ofland.

Debnath Biswas and MadhaviBiswas, both in their early sixtiescould not even imagine a lifeaway from their land.

"They offered us Twenty Lakhsfirst" says Debnath Biswas, "thenthey increased it upto fifty lakhs.We have been living in this landand making our living for the last

5 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

BYZUBAIR AHMED

With new revelationson the whoppingIrrigation scamunraveling in

Maharashtra, the connec-tions and links of SomaEnterprises with the NCP-Congress combine has athread ending up inAndaman and NicobarIslands too.

Soma Enterprises, whichsurprisingly won the bid forthe Bharatpur Beach propertyin Neil Island too has manyinteresting linkages whichpoints finger towards the longtenure of the incumbentLieutenant Governor,Bhopinder Singh.

In Maharashtra accordingto news reports, all the ten-ders were in excess of 10 percent above the estimatedcosts. Government rulesclearly stipulate that any ten-der quoting 5 per cent abovethe estimated costs needs theapproval of Secretary ofFinance, Planning and WaterResources. To circumventthat, the minister revised theoriginal estimates post thebids. The clearances weregiven simply on the signaturesof Ajit Pawar and VidarbhaIrrigation DevelopmentCorporation ExecutiveDirector DP Shirkhe.

This is the same modusoperandi used by theLieutenant Governor in theNeil Island case too – ofchanging the original esti-mates post the bids. Despitemany objections raised byVivek Rae, then Chief

Secretary, he forced theAdministration to offer theland on a platter to SomaEnterprises for a meager Rs.25 Lakhs per annum, by retro-spectively reducing the mini-mum acceptable benchmarkprice to qualify Soma

Enterprises low bid. This is thesame Soma Enterpriseswhere the same AvinashBhosale was the promoter, abuilder from Pune known tobe close to the Pawar family. Itwas difficult to substantiatethe motive of the whole deal.

However, it was allegedthat in exchange, theLieutenant Governor hadgot an extension of tenure,unprecedented in the histo-ry of the Islands. Certainlythe fact that the bid processcoincided with the end of hisinitial tenure may haveraised such doubts in peole’sminds.

The Light of Andamanshad broken the story (BeachProperties: Andaman forSale, Issue 14, 30 September2011.

In the case of Neil Island,right connections with anobliging Administrator hadworked in favour of Soma

Enterprise to grab the dealdodging all laws in the rule-book.

It is also interesting to notethat Soma Enterprise was anovice with no experience atall in the hospitality andtourism sector. No representa-tive of Soma Enterprises’ bidpartner, whose experiencewas shown to meet technicalqualification criteria, had everbeen seen during or after thebid process.

Why the Administrator,sidelining his ownAdministration went aheadand aggressively advocated toaccept the bid of SomaEnterprises is not a puzzleanymore.

BHARATPUR BEACH - NEIL ISLAND LAND DEAL

forty years. Why should we leavethis place? We gave them a clearNO. Then they tried to threaten usby saying that all the land sur-rounding us has been purchasedby them and that we will not beable even to go out of our house. "

"If they block our way we willcut two more trees and make twomore dinghies and will go in ourown way" interjects Madhavi.

"What can we do with the fiftylakh that they give us? If you go toa hotel and eat a Biriyani, hun-dred Rupees is lost. How does itget replenished?" the rustic villagelogic of Biswas is difficult to becountered with modern economicjargons.

About 60 acres of land has beenalready grabbed in Rutland. It islearnt from high sources that aDRDO project is also on the anvilin the Island, and the realtor fromthe Capital is amassing land forresale bonanza. Apart from that itis some reputed hotel chains havealso started showing interest insuch lands.

Unfortunately, the Islanders areyet to learnt a lesson from

Havelock, where the local settlerstoday have little stake in their ownplace with many of them sellingtheir land to resorts, but at leastfor a premium. The situation isworse today with some of themturning landless and the moneyspent on frivolous things.

States like Himachal Pradesh

and West Bengal haveRegulations which puts restrictionon alienation of land. The WestBengal Alienation of Land(Regulation) Act, 1960 has provi-sions like restrictions on alien-ation, if the area proposedexceeds such limits as may be pre-scribed having regard to the avail-

ability of land in the locality forthe use of the people of the locali-ty or the proposed alienation is inthe opinion of the State Govt prej-udicial to the public interest.

"When there is restriction intribal areas, why can't we havesuch a regulation for non-tribalareas too?" asks an old inhabitant.

"If any project wants to come up,like in tribal area, the Islander canbe made a stakeholder in the proj-ect," he said.

Protective laws can help thenon-tribals too like the HimachalPradesh Transfer of Land Act pre-vents alienation from land protec-tion to the tribal population.Under this Act, the Tribals cannotsell, mortgage or lease out theirland to non-tribals without priorpermission. In the Islands,although we need to seek permis-sion for sale of land, it should notbe given to non-Islanders. "Its notgoing to hamper any project ordevelopmental activities, as proj-ect can come up in any land, butthe ownership of the land willremain with the Islanders whichgives them a stake in the project.

It's high time the politicians,civil society organisations andlocal associations come togetherand demand for a Regulation toput restrictions on alienation oflocal land or land sharks with highconnections has already spreadtheir tentacles through theIslands.

PAWARFULCONNECTIONS

6 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

BYSTAFFREPORTER

In all public meetings orannouncements by the opposi-tion parties both small and big

of late, opposition speakers havea field day criticizing theCongress Chief Kuldeep RaiSharma, his family and his rela-tionship with the Administrator.Recent elections to the Chair ofMunicipal Council and the twoZilla Parishads saw three greatbattles; one was Kuldeep versusSudeep at PBMC, second wasKuldeep versus an under suspen-sion technocrat at Zilla Parishad,South Andaman and thirdlyKuldeep versus his own SonyThomas (a recent TMC import toCongress) at Zilla Parishad,Middle-North Andaman. This isnot the time to be in Kuldeep'sshoes in Island's politics.

Bodies of local self governanceare the only institutions whereindecisions for development aremade by elected representativesof people. Democratic set up inthe Islands has a lone Member ofParliament who if not from the

CONGRESSV/s

CONGRESSP

. B. Murugan of the Congress has beenelevated as the new Chairperson for thethird year term of the Council, strangely

unopposed. Subsequently M. Arumugamand Indrapal Singh have been elected asSenior Vice Chairman and Junior ViceChairman of the Council respectively. Thefirst year being reserved for a LadyChairperson, saw Firdaus Bibi get electedwith a little help from a defector of the BJP.The Council originally had nine CongressCouncilors, four BJP, two RJD, one TMC,TDP and DMK each.

Congress had gone to polls alone withoutany ally. Midway through her tenure FirdausBibi got a few more supporters in the eight-een member council. Credit for increase inher support strength goes to a nominatedcouncilor Sudeep Rai Sharma who wasinducted along with 2 other nominatedcouncilors for adding experience to thebunch of mostly inexperienced Councilors.This, being the rationale put forth by the

Congress President in his recent interview toLoA. The second year term saw history beingmade at the Council as the lady retained herposition by virtue of the experienced nomi-nated councilor putting his weight around.First two years of the present council had itsfair share of headlines and controversies inthe local press. P.B. Murugan had a mild car-diac stroke prior to becoming the first citizenof Port Blair city and could be thanking hisstars for getting the top spot at the council.

The experience imparting nominatedcouncilor coupled with his blood ties with theCongress Supremo had other designs for thethird year, but by virtue of his high-handed-ness for the last two terms lost out to the orig-inal Congress, lead by the more experiencedK. Ganeshan and M. Arumugam. However,these two gentlemen also paid in terms of los-ing the coveted post for their mini rebellionwhich ultimately went to a more acceptableP.B. Murugan proposed by the PCC Presidentas a forced compromise to appease the

rebels, predominantly of a community whichdoes not trust Kuldeep after the quarryexploits and to waive off any vindictive actionby the new Chairman on the misappropria-tion of Sudeep Rai Sharma controlledFirdaus Bibi regime. This time around in a noholds bar tussle it was the nominated coun-cilor versus the rest, even the BJP, RJD andDMK supported the original Congress.Election to the chair of the sub-committees inthe Council saw original Congress councilorsleading the committees. The experienceimparting nominated councilor along withhis four new Congress councilors includingthe ex two consecutive terms Chairperson,first year BJP defector, a TMC defector and aTDP fence sitter were left nursing the inflatedego of the experienced nominated councilor.Post election to the sub committees saw somealtercation at Gandhi Bhavan between thenew Congress group led by Sudeep and theState Congress leadership sans the PCC pres-ident who luckily was on a private visit toHavelock after the swearing in ceremony ofAdhyaksha, Zilla Parishad South Andaman.Going by the track record of the Sudeep RaiSharma, the Congress supremo Kuldeep RaiSharma has his hands full not from the oppo-sition but his own family and partymen atPBMC.

PBMC: Blood Brothers!

Is there a need for all the parties in the Islandsto unite and fight against the mammothCongress? The internecine battles inside thecentury-old party have already started tomanifest its ugly face. The elections to theLocal Self Government bodies was the arena,where blood brothers, and khadi-cladCongressmen - New and Old - were engagedin using all tricks of guerilla warfare againsteach other. The finishing-point of the race ofCongresses inside the Congress will be inter-esting to watch when it reaches 2014.

7 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

ruling party at the centre is asgood as a lame duck. The presentMP's histrionics have not yieldedany good for the Islanders as rou-tine matters were put into inordi-nate delays for rubbing theBureaucrats' egos on and off. Inan Administrative set up that iscontrolled by outside bureau-crats; people have great expecta-tions from Panchayati RajInstitutions and Urban LocalBodies for meeting their aspira-tions.

Congress for the majority ofthe island's local self governancehistory has controlled these insti-tutions baring a few years whenthe opposition controlled it. Oncein the past the opposition wasshunted out of power midway bythe most popular Lt. Governor ofthe Islands to date, when it waschristened a Pradesh Parishad.This Parishad never saw light ofthe day again. Secondly the'Bharatiya Janata Party -the Partywith a difference' and its allieswhen at the helm in therearranged institutions of selfgovernance -the Zilla Parishadand the Municipal Council wereno good either with large scalecorruption and having made afew millionaires of its own.

Poor islanders have been mutespectators to the large scale mis-appropriation of public excheq-uer by our representatives sinceinception of these institutions. Tofacilitate equitable share of thismisappropriation a novel con-cept was designed. For the entiretenure of these institutionschange of guard takes placeannually, as to who will headthem as Chairperson orAdhyaksh/Adhyaksha as thecase maybe. This is the timewhen our elected representativeshave a field day. Horse trading isthe norm and cash plays a bigrole. The person who bags thecoveted post spends a lot to getthere and once there, goes all outto recover his investment plus alot more for eternity.

Congress by virtue of itsGovernment at Centre and com-manding the attention of thelocal bureaucrats has an easiertask to lure the fence sitters andstake claim to control these bod-ies. Last local bodies electionshad not given Congress absolutemajority but it still controls thePBMC and the two ZillaParishads. Congress has a historyof being a party which is topheavy and revolves around a fewindividuals calling all the shots.Manoranjan Bhakta's reign as anMP saw the party function with-out any major hiccups. There wasspace for a few in Bhakta's loyal-ist who would run the party, holdvarious positions and even makemoney locally. Bhakta mean-while was a national player, builthis empire around his non-resi-dent Islanders- daughters, son-

in-laws and grandkids in themainland from the big stakehold-ers venturing in the Islands forbusiness.

Kuldeep Rai Sharma as fatewould have had it, dethronedBhakta and got the party on aplatter when Bhakta formed theTrinamool Congress. Politicalpower in the islands or for thatmatter the whole countryrevolves around money to bemisappropriated from variousdemocratic institutions of power.If one happens to have enoughmoney this would suffice to tiltthe scales in your favour in anyelection is a popular notion. As anaspiring unemployed educatedIsland youth looking for a voca-tion, Kuldeep found it easy todabble into politics as he was theson of a rich Government servantwho was always in the news forwrong reasons. Congress has along history of king makers andsidekicks of the party's mainleaders; right from Sardar NechalSingh Chawla to date. Thesesidekicks switched sides forKuldeep especially when an age-ing Bhakta got disconnected withthe Islanders with failing healthand made some foolish decisionsof his own. These very bunches ofsidekicks have brought about thedownfall of many great Congressleaders and now its Kuldeep'sturn. Kuldeep has the distinctionof being an autocrat like his pred-ecessors in the party with theonly exception being he has tohave a finger in every pie and eatit too. There's no room for others.All the resources and the posi-tions are to go to him or hisimmediate family. Certain chainof events in the past six yearswith the reign of the present Lt.Governor has made mattersworse for him. He has beenbranded anti to certain commu-nities and no matter how hard hetries this outlook of those com-munities will not change.Kuldeep has failed to find a bal-ance in his approach towards allcommunities and the prime rea-son being his greed for absolutepower without yielding anyspace for others. Dissidences inthe party are brewing and theresults are for all to see in bodiesof local self governance. 2014 hasa bleak future for the Congress inthe Islands as its leadership isplagued with the same diseasethat is crippling the Central lead-ership- 'Corruption, directionlesspolicies and disconnect with thegrass roots cadres'. Amidst therecent swearing in ceremonies ofour new VIPs in institutions oflocal self governance, it is inter-esting to chart the turn of events,where it was the Congress lead-ership who could only wait forevents to unfold on its own meritrather than do anything as wasthe case with the opposition par-ties too.

Madhuri Giri of theCongress fromMayabunder Zilla

Parishad Constituency defeatedthe official Congress nomineePanchavarnum from NimbutalaZilla Parishad Constituency forthe Adhyaksha, Zilla Parishad,North-Middle Andaman gar-nering support of nine membersagainst six opposing memberswith one member vote beingdisqualified.

Srinivasan of the Congresswas elected unopposed as Up-Adhyaksh. N-M Andaman ZillaParishad has 16 members.Madhuri Giri had earlier the for-tune of leading the first term asAdhyaksha where as the secondterm was headed by P Prasad asAdhyaksh. Here the Congressversus Congress game wasmore of Prasad versus SonyThomas battle. Prasad is knownto be close to the President,Congress rewarded time andagain for his outbursts againstBhakta who was on his way outof the Congress when Kuldeepwas consolidating his position.

Prasad is known to maintainthe same level of aristocracy ashis president on his visits to thestate or national capital andduring routine activities. Histenure was marked with a peri-od of one man ship with theother members cooling theirheels while he made hay as thesun shone.

This time, he put his weightbehind the inexperiencedPanchavarnum hoping for aproxy rule but Sony Thomas acontractor turned TMC support-er turned Congressmen whohad played a important role inMadhuri Giri's first tenure

stopped the official Congressbandwagon. Contrary to popu-lar sentiments Kuldeep offeredseat to a candidate fully awareof the fact that it'll go the otherway, which it did.

Now, there is lot of hue andcry about disciplinary action bythe Territorial CongressCommittee, the highest localbody of the party filled with hissidekicks and kingmakers, but itseems unlikely that Kuldeepwould risk it and face a wipe outfrom North Middle Andamandistrict. Here too the BJP had nostance to offer with its membersswitching camp at will.

Zilla Parishad, Madhyottar Andaman

Nothing Official About It!

Abala Sammaddar, the ZillaParishad member ofVijaynagar constituency,

Havelock from the Congress waselected the Adhyaksha, ZillaParishad, South Andaman for thethird year term reserved forwomen with Balbir Kaur ofCampbell Bay as Up-Adhyaksha.

In the South Andaman ZillaParishad Congress has a strengthof 10 members and the BJP hasfive members out of the total 15members as on date. AbalaSammaddar of the Congresssecured eight members supportand Farida Bibi of the BJP securedthe support of seven members forthe post of Adhyaksha. Two ZillaParishad members of theCongress cross voted for the BJP.Hunt is on for the two undisci-plined Congress members, thismay not be such a Herculean task.Though other permutation andcombinations are there with bothsides cross voting but raking onesbrain over it would be waste oftime as the report card to the highcommand at Delhi says all's well.

Zilla Parishad has known to bea bout ring for the technocrats

and the politicos. There was atime when an Ex-Adhyaksharuled the roost for three consecu-tive terms in the last Zilla Parishadwith the blessings of a Technocratand the political bosses were leftcooling their heels helpless. Thesame game could be smelt herebut to no avail as the politiciansprevailed this time. Congress inthe last PRI elections had sevenmembers with the BJP sevenmembers and one independentin the Zilla Parishad. Baring thefirst year term when power wasshared between the Congress andBJP, the second year saw SSBalakrishnan Nair consolidating

the Congress position with threenew entrants supporting himeventually.

If not for Balakrishnan's astutemanagement skills Farida Bibicould have pipped AbalaSammaddar to the post and thetechnocrat could have got his sus-pension revoked. This could havealso made matters a lot easier forthe PRI's who are finding hard toproceed ahead by the lack of esti-mate schedules denied to themby the present crop of technocratswho are no less corrupt. The BJPleadership was at the mercy of thesuspended technocrat runningtheir losing game.

BETE NOIRE: Balakrishnan and Sajan Ommen

OFFICIAL CHOICE: Prasad and Madhurigiri

Zilla Parishad, South AndamanTechnically Yours, Kuldeep

8 |edit|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

1155 OOccttoobbeerr 22001122 || VVooll 3366 IIssssuuee 0022

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

Bon Voyage SeshasaiC

apt. Seshasai Director Shipping Services had a grace-ful exit from the Islands with loads of disgracefulaccomplishments to his credit. He had inherited

everything Capt Paul James left, including his corruptpractices. But, Seshasai was of a different league altogeth-er. He went one step ahead, tweaked and reinvented bet-ter tactics. And as a master of anecdotes, he could easilyfloor anyone with his countless jibes on everyone andeverything.

When Captain Seshasai joined the Shipping Directorate,he was one of the three Directors and assigned Operationsand Maintenance. Anyway, he was not keen to continue as'one of the Directors' and had told LOA at that time thatwithout complete control, he would not be in a position tobring any positive change to the department. He wasgiven complete control as the whole and sole Director.Like any tenderfoot, he too showed all idiosyncrasies inthe initial period. In boiler suit, he was found in the dock-yard early mornings as a timekeeper. By the time, he couldunderstand the work culture of his employees; he hadobviously learnt the ways to consolidate his grip on thecash-rich department. With a large fleet of sick vessels,unable to decommission or make operational, he found ita tough go. New vessels joined, but could not cover thedemand. The onus once again fell on the whole and soledirector to explain. He had by now learnt how to dodgethe complaints. Technically, he would try to convince orultimately confuse those who went to him with com-plaints. It was a cakewalk for him to charm the gullibleSecretary Shipping and even the Chief Secretary.

The Shipping sector touched the lowest ebb, with starstoo failing in favour of the captain. Three ships which hedid not place order joined the fleet during his tenure andall three of it failed to sail and remained tethered for morethan 4 years. It gave him another weapon to blame hispredecessors.

Capt Seshasai had made lots of demands and promisesto bring sanity to the department But, his hollow promis-es failed miserably, with the services severely hitting rockbottom. And, in the meantime, corruption touched anoth-er level with his sordid greed increasing day after day.

After a series of Vigilance and CBI raids, glaringinstances of corruption came to the fore. From crank-shafts, gearboxes, navigational equipments and corrup-tion in everything, the department had turned into a blackhole of corruption.

But, it is unfortunate that the Admn instead of keepinghim tethered to the Islands and making him pay for thecorrupt deeds, he was given a soft kick with repatriationto his parent organization. The safe passage to CaptSeshasai shows the resolve of the Admn in tackling cor-ruption. It was not the efforts of the Admn, but the tirelessefforts of a few who had to approach court to get the bigfish in the net. Unluckily, the fish got a free and safe pas-sage.

The Island Development Authority wasnot always a directionless, uninspired,reluctant body that survived for sur-

vivals sake. Under Rajiv Gandhi it was adynamic mechanism to usher the Island ter-ritories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands andLakshadweep into an era of balanced pros-perity, where development and environ-ment would compliment each other ratherthan compete.

Next IDA meet is on 17 Oct 2012 and theIslanders are as usual kept in darkness aboutthe agenda. Why can't the Admn publish theagenda of the IDA meeting and seek the sug-gestions of the stakeholders? Subjects cho-sen by the Bureaucrats and discussed inDelhi with a single MP representing theIslands is the fate of the Islanders. TheMember of Parliament will have a long list ofpopulist agenda for the IDA.

It was the IDA that had raised environ-mental concerns long before the NGOs andthe courts got into the act. It was the IDA thathad mooted the idea of introducing theInner Line Permit System to keep a check onthe influx of population. The issue of identi-ty cards to all the islanders was also its rec-ommendation. Sustainable development,pollution free industry, true economic devel-opment were a few concerns that the firstIDA meeting addressed with all sincerity.

Other than a few insignificant things hereand there no substantial objective has beenfulfilled. There is no clue whether the stud-

ies as envisaged by the IDA decisions wereever conducted and if so, what were thefindings.

There were path breaking decisions oninflux, carrying capacity of the islands,exploitation of marine resources, tribalrights and other developmental issue. Butthose always remained tied up in officialfiles of the Planning Commission and theconcerned ministries.

As far as public knowledge goes nothinghas been done on any of the decisions. Atleast nothing has come of the files on to theground. The people of A&N Islands andLakshadweep are waiting to see if the nextIDA follows the path shown by Rajiv Gandhior degenerates into another inanity.

Over the years, it had turned into a ritual tohold a perfunctory meeting in difference tothe wishes and memories of late RajivGandhi and consign the deliberations to thedustbin as soon as the meeting is over.

All said and done, IDA provides the admin-istration and the Member of Parliament toput up their agenda before the powerfulbody for consideration. And the Islandersnever get to see the agenda or the minutes ofthe meeting. Why such an iron curtainbetween the Admn and the Islanders?

But both the administration and the MPhave consistently failed to make use of thepowerful forum to extract major concessionsfor the islands. There is no reason why itshould be any different this time!

SACRED | SPACE

When he was a little boy his uncle called him“Sparky”, after a comic-strip horse namedSpark Plug. School was all but impossible for

Sparky.He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He

flunked physics in high school, getting a grade ofzero. He also flunked Latin, algebra and English. Andhis record in sports wasn’t any better. Though he didmanage to make the school’s golf team, he promptlylost the only important match of the season. Oh,there was a consolation match; he lost that too.

Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkwardsocially. It wasn’t that the other students dislikedhim; it’s just that no one really cared all that much. Infact, Sparky was astonished if a classmate ever saidhello to him outside of school hours. There’s no wayto tell how he might have done at dating. He neveronce asked a girl out in high school. He was too afraidof being turned down… or perhaps laughed at.Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates… everyoneknew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up hismind early that if things were meant to work out,they would. Otherwise he would content himselfwith what appeared to be his inevitable mediocrity.

One thing WAS important to Sparky, however —drawing. He was proud of his artwork. No one elseappreciated it. But that didn’t seem to matter to him.

In his senior year of high school, he submitted somecartoons to the the yearbook. The editors rejectedthe concept. Despite this brush-off, Sparky was con-vinced of his ability. He even decided to become anartist.

So, after completing high school, Sparky wroteWalt Disney Studios. They asked for samples of hisartwork. Despite careful preparation, it too wasrejected. One more confirmation that he was a loser.

But Sparky still didn’t give up. Instead, he decidedto tell his own life’s story in cartoons. The main char-acter would be a little boy who symbolized the per-petual loser and chronic underachiever. You knowhim well. Because Sparky’s cartoon character wenton to become a cultural phenomenon of sorts. Peoplereadily identified with this “lovable loser.” Hereminded people of the painful and embarrassingmoments from their own past, of their pain and theirshared humanity. The character soon becamefamous worldwide: “Charlie Brown.” And Sparky,the boy whose many failures never kept him fromtrying, whose work was rejected again and again,…is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz.His cartoon strip, “Peanuts,” continues to inspirebooks, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us,as someone once commented, that life somehowfinds a way for all of us, even the losers.

The Loser Who Never Gave Up!

IDA - Whats the Agenda?

9 |opED|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

When the First Son-in-Lawof the Nation -RobertVadra posted these

remarks on his facebook statusmessage, it created a lot of furorein the political circles over refer-ence to the Aam Aadmi asMango People. Some of therecent decisions of the UPA-IIgovernment have made theseremarks sound true. Politiciansdo consider us nothing morethan that and we do live in aBanana Republic. As and whennew declarations are made bythe Government the Aam Aadmiis made to run from pillar to postjust to meet his basic require-ments all over again.

The most recent lifting of sub-sidies on LPG and limiting it to 6cylinders per family per year

which fortunately got increasedto 9 cylinders by ourAdministrator like in theCongress ruled states has set usall in a spin. Household budgetshave gone haywire with con-stant and periodic increase infuel prices and essential com-modities. Our islands are knownto pay the brunt for these issuesas we import every essentialcommodity from mainland atalready exorbitant prices.

Coupled with these the harass-ment meted out to the AamAadmi is many fold. The distrib-utors of LPG are having a fieldday with the amount of hassles aLPG subscriber has to go throughin getting their connections re-verified in order to avoid duplici-ty. Forms are to be filled again.

Mile long queues are formedbraving the heat and the rainwith people trampling over eachother. There is a mad rush wherejoint families are on the verge ofbeing divided by separating theration cards of sons and daugh-

ters from their parents in order toavail an extra connection.Another long queue awaits us atthe Civil Supplies Departmentenabling us to separate from ourparents to avail an LPG connec-tion. If the government can goabout creating such new exercis-es where the misery of Mango

people never ends, why can't ithave a simpler method of ascer-taining the genuine connectionsrather same old forms andqueues? There have been half adozen multimillion rupees exer-cises by the Govt. of India as in

the case of NPR's and Aadharsbothering us no end time andagain. These exercises shouldhave taken care of such informa-tion which can be updated.

The LPG story has made theblack marketers have a field daytoo. If one has the money procur-ing a cylinder without any docu-

ment is as easy as it comes. Themarket for a LPG cylinder in theblack market post lifting of capon subsidy scenario has made aquantum leap from Rs 650 to Rs1300. The major distributors ofLPG in the Islands have staffswho are masters of this tradesince ages and there is no fussinvolved here except extra cash.Some of the booking proceduresif it involves standing in longqueues to book a cylinder wouldas well make the above proposi-tion more lucrative to a con-sumer as its door delivered.

Administration in its endeav-our should make arrangementsfor processes which are simplerand less complicated; it alsoshould not be repetitive and lesstime consuming. Further more ifthe Govts are concerned aboutpreventing duplicity and fakeconnections it should also stopall pilferages and black market-ing by hoarders.

PAUPER’S LOGABU ARSH

Mango People in Banana Republic

BYSTAFFREPORTER

Every political party nurturesthe aspiration to have a dem-ocratic setup in the Islands.

But, sense never prevailed amongthe top parties to come togetheron a common platform and assertfor it. Very recently, tired of thebureaucratic labyrinth and auto-cratic decisions of a LieutenantGovernor with Defence back-ground and without administra-tive skills, an all-party delegationmet the President of India andother national political leadersand submitted memorandumdemanding a LegislativeAssembly for the Islands. The all-party delegation has stronglydemanded an urgent solution tochange the present system ofAdministration as self-gover-nance is their basic right.

More than six political partiesincluding BJP, CPM, TMC, RJD,TDP, DMK and AIADMK havecome together with only Congressparty remaining out of the Frontvery prominently.

Addressing the media, KG Das,State Secretary, CPIM said thatthey have demanded Assemblyfor the Islands. When asked aboutexclusion of Congress Party fromthe front, he clarified thatAssembly is part of Congressagenda, but are unwilling to jointhe front or agitation to achieve it."I feel that Congress too will take astep towards it," he said.

When asked about the opposi-

tion of Local Born Association foran Assembly, KG Das said that noone can oppose Statehood on thebasis of demographic equations.Citing an example from North-East, he said that the local popula-tions in many states are very low,but it cannot stop them having ademocratic and participatory selfgovernance system. "This is a colo-nial mindset trying to strangle theaspirations of the Islanders," hesaid.

Commenting on the attitude ofthe Lieutenant Governor, he saidthat the Administrator's dictatori-al approach without any consulta-tion process or accessibility haseffected the development of theIslands badly. "How can anAdministrator allow Raj Niwas tobe used as a Party office?" he

asked."We have also demanded for

immediate call back of theAdministrator, who has exceededhis tenure by 3 years," Das added.

Manoranjan Bhakta, who madea comeback with joining the Frontsaid that this is a new journey withall parties coming together.

Clarifying the agenda of thefront, Bhakta said that this is acommon platform for Assemblyand not an electoral alliance tofight elections.

In the memorandum submittedto the President, it is alleged thatfor the last ten years, no majordevelopment has taken place inthe Islands. The LieutenantGovernor, who is about to com-plete two-terms, is not workingkeeping the interest of the public.

The dictatorial attitude towardsgeneral public, politicians, electedrepresentatives and PRI membershave jeopardized the entire eco-nomic development of theseIslands, stated the memorandum.

The All-Party delegation alsorued the abolishment of the 30-member Andaman and NicobarPradesh Parishad with fiveCouncilors of the rank and statusof Deputy State Minister, whichwas sanctioned by the Ministry ofHome Affairs and inaugurated on20th June 1981 by State HomeMinister Yogendra Makhwana. Inhis message, greeting the peopleof these Islands, he had said, "TheInauguration of this State Councimarks the dawn of a new era inthe history of this Union Territory.The active participation of the

people in the affairs of the State isthe backbone of democracy. Theneed for greater association of thelocal people in the Administrationof this Territory has been felt eversince independence." He had alsosaid that the Pradesh Council is aforerunner to this process to com-plete democratic decentraliza-tion. As a stepping stone, theCouncil provides opportunity tothe elected representatives andthe officials to gain experience invital areas of development andpolicy making. From now on theelected representatives of the peo-ple are going to sit together andadvice the Government in mattersof administration."

The memorandum said that theCouncil was sanctioned to theIslanders as a triial to form aLegislative Assembly in the nearfuture. However, this StateCouncil had functioned only forten years and consequent to theformation of the Zilla Parishad forthe South Andaman District, ANIAdmn abolished the 30-memberCouncil without consulting thepolitical parties. The unilateraldecision of the Admn in windingup the Pradesh Council

Citing many anti-people notifi-cations and regulations withoutany consultation, the all-party del-egation has urgently demandedthe need for a democratic setupfor the Union Territory for speedydevelopment on the same patternof Pondicherry.

Prominent leaders of all partiesincluding Marudavanan, DMK, PR Ganesh, RJD, and R Mohan,BJP too attended the Press Meet.They informed that the All-PartyFront will organize a token dhar-na and awareness programmesthroughout the Islands to garnersupport for the cause of Assembly.

United Front for Assembly

STRANGE MIX: A R Marudhuvanan, DMK, KG Das, CPIM, and MR Bhakta, TMC

10 |features|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

BYBASUDEVDASS

Secularism, we don't preachbut practice,' said a proudislander to a local tourist at

Rajghat in New Delhi while pay-ing tributes to Gandhiji. 'ComeOctober and visit Andamans toenjoy Durga Puja not only forentertainment but to realise uni-versal brotherhood and onlybrotherhood without any reli-gious abhorrence', said he andadded, "And why should it notbe. The seed of this festival wassown by the 'freedom fighters'and 'political prisoners' alongwith other convicts deported tothe infamous Cellular Jail fromall parts of the Country. It wasthey who celebrated the first'Durga Puja' inside the high-risebricked walls of the 'Cells beyondCells'.

Irrespective of the fact whatreligion they practiced, whetheratheist or theist, the states theybelonged to, the language theyspoke, the rituals and culturethey followed; they registeredtheir participation in the Puja inthe year 1934. The celebration of

this was not alone a ritual forthem but an opportunity to marka symbolic triumph over theBritish tyranny and exhibition ofsupremacy over the foreignclout. The 46-days 'HungerStrike' observed by the 'Heroes' ofthe 'Freedom Struggle' inside thejail ended on 26th June 1933.Though three of many becamemartyr for the cause, the prison-ers were extended substantialrelief including, reading andwriting materials, significantimprovement in living standardwith better food, bed, gamesfacilities, reduced working hoursand allowance of following reli-gious rituals.

In his book 'In Andamans - TheIndian Bastille'Bejoy KumarSinha, a well known revolution-ary and a close associate ofSardar Bhagat Singh, triedalong-with Bhagat Singh inLahore Conspiracy Case was sen-tenced to 'Saza-e-Kalapani' inCellular Jail in 1933 has said,"Durga Puja had approached andwe therefore readily seized theopportunity as an occasion forhaving a grand festival, rich in itround of amusements and othersocial features".

A five-day festival, each dayhaving its own rituals, was not amatter of joke in those days thattoo for prisoners under the for-eign yoke staying inside the 'Cellsbeyond Cells'. But who couldstop their indomitable courage,

enthusiasm and determinationwho had already sacrificedeverything including themselvesfor the cause of motherland!

Meetings were held, commit-tees were formed and pro-grammes for Puja as well asamusements were finalized. Ithad puja committee, amusementcommittee, reception commit-tee, stores committee, kitchencommittee etc. Everyone wasgiven task as per their capabilityIt was a situation where eachworked as a team presentingtheir individual expertise anddedication.

"We formed our DramaCommittee that included amongits members, coach, manager,electrical engineers, prompter,technical director, music master,in short, the complete troupe of adrama company. For scenes wecollected a large number of ourbed-sheets and stitched themtogether. Our painter comradesby their day and night labourtransformed them into scenes farbetter than what one ordinarilyfinds in amateur drama club ofour small towns. Wings were alsopainted. Our artistes were so suc-cessful in their enterprise thatthey earned universal praise.One local high official evenexpressed his desire to purchaseone of the scenes".

Envisage the situation whereeven the people outside the jailwere unable to gather items of

their daily needs, how could theprisoners, that too under the for-eign command, manage therequired items of erecting thedeity, the bamboos, earth andhusk for the structure, paints forcolour, apparels and ornamentsfor the image, items to performthe rituals and above all, a priestto conduct the puja during all thefive days. But nothing could stopthem and the first Durga Puja inthe islands was celebrated by theprisoners facing the challenges ofphysical approval but mental dis-approval of the British rulersinside the Jail made by them to'tame the freedom loving lions'.

Sinha concludes about Puja,"After a crowded programme offive days our Puja was over. Wehad enjoyed the festival morethan we expected. We nowcraved for a change. .......The oldorder was changing yieldingplace to new."

Time and tide waited for none.12 years had passed. Politicalprisoners had left for mainland.Even people in the islands hadstarted smelling the fragrance offreedom which was not far. NKPatterson was the British ChiefCommissioner of the A&NIslands. Mihir Kumar Sanyal(English pronounced him asSandal) had joined the thenMarine department as HarbourMaster and Assistant Engineer(Marine) on November 30, 1945.The very next year in 1946,

Sanyal himself made the imageof Durga and her accomplices athis residence at Marine Hill andconducted the Puja. And the lonePuja continued there.

"I was a student of 2nd stan-dard in School Line PrimarySchool and would walk to myschool from the hilltop residenceat Dairyfarm. Since walking wasnot a problem, I with my threeelder brothers would walk to'Sandal Saab ka Durga Puja' atMarine Hill on Asthami andNavami day of the Puja to haveKhichdi Prasad as well as visitingthe Mela at Marine Ground (nowthe Marine Recreation Club andthe Mohanpura School up to pri-vate bus-stand premises)". Thiscan be termed as the older formof the present 'Island TourismFestival'. It might have much less-er charm and modern activitiesthen the present ITF but, had the'heart full of emotion and con-cern for each other'. The Melacomprised of 'Pashu Mela'(Animal fair) too. Apart fromstalls of exhibition, there existedfancy dress competition, sportsand games also during all fivedays of celebration. Peoplewould come to Port Blair fromdistant villages on bullock carts.Even devotees from islands likeHavelock, Rangat etc. wouldcome days before and would staywith friends, relatives and evenas guests with people in PortBlair Since then the islands wit-

nessed Durga Puja uninterrupt-ed.

Till 1960 only one Puja atMarine Hill was performed fol-lowed by the second Puja atHaddo in 1962. This Puja waslater shifted to Atul Smriti Samityin 1965, it is said (to some, theyear is 1964). The 1949 coloniza-tion Scheme of IndianGovernment saw manyBengalese settled in differentislands and as a result they toostarted conducting Durga Puja.Havelock was the first outerisland that witnessed this Pujaand the deity was made at theMarine Hill Durga Puja premisesand was transported to Havelockby the tug boat 'Moti'. Whiledescribing the event, a fewnames other than Mr. and Mrs.Sanyal needs be mentionedamong many others. They areMintu Biswas, ManabendraChaki, KN Adhikari, ManikSarkar, Dilbar Hussain etc. Laterwhen APWD too organizedDurga Puja Executive EngineerKP Mohinuddin was the chieforganizer of the first Puja. MChaki, Mintu Biswas,Sardanand, Jagdish Narayan etc.were the main actors to start andcontinue Puja at Junglighat. Theorganizing committees till nowdo not harvest any religious dif-ferences and responsibilities aregiven and accepted according toone's ability.

But now counting of Puja-Pandals in and around Port Blairas well as in different islands isbecoming difficult. FromDiglipur to Campbell Bay includ-ing tribal areas, the Puja is cele-brated. Followers of any religionwill participate in the festival as ifit is their own. Ismail would notcompromise without new pantand shirt to visit pandal on onehand while Samuel is intolerablewithout the pair of a new brand-ed shoe. And all these demandsare met by the parents happilysince the celebration is a IslandFestival as a whole.

However, with the advent ofmodern facilities, the emotionand involvement is fast annihilat-ing instead exhibition of showand competition with involve-ment of money and politics aremaking its way. The Budget of aPuja varies between Rs 5 to 12lakhs and Committees areformed with senior members ofvarious political parties. In earlierdays, rice, necessary commodi-ties and vegetables would formpart of donation. Now all theactivities are becoming highlyprofessional and commercial,right from preparation of idol,Prasad, reception, decoration,ritual and also immersion. Theemotional involvement is fastreceding and days are not far thatthis Island Festival will alsobecome an attraction of pompand grandeur alone as happen-ing in other part of India.

A five-day festival, each day having its own rituals, was nota matter of joke in those days that too for prisoners underthe foreign yoke staying inside the 'Cells beyond Cells'.Butwho could stop their indomitable courage, enthusiasm anddetermination who had already sacrificed everythingincluding themselves for the cause of motherland!

Durga Puja: Yesteryears

11 |home|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

Aproposal of Indian Navyreceived in the MOEF forconsideration of the

Standing Committee of NationalBoard for Wildlife (NBWL), seek-ing recommendation for use of2m x 2m area withinTillangchong Wild Life Sanctuary,A & N Islands, for erection of astructure as target for practicemissiles from sub marines, for 7 to10 days in a year has been turneddown.

In the deliberations on the issuein 25th Standing Committeemeeting, the matter was exten-sively discussed and several mem-bers expressed their strong oppo-sition to the proposal.Representative of the Indian Navymade a very persuasive presenta-tion of the importance of the proj-ect.

Accordingly it was recommend-ed that the proposal for use of for-est land for installation of a struc-ture as target for use of the prac-tice versions of the missiles in the

Sanctuary cannot be permitted.The proponent, Indian Navy, wasrequested to identify alternatelocations, where high conserva-tion values of this nature are not atstake, for ensuring the defencepreparedness and security of thecountry.

The area is notified as a WildLife Sanctuary in 1985. The Islandis about 15 km long and 1 km inwidth, with a total area of 16.83 sqkm. The island supports tropicalevergreen vegetation.

The proposal was considered inthe 23rd meeting held on 14thOctober 2011 wherein a siteinspection was prescribed andentrusted to Dr A Rahmani,Member, along with the ChiefWildlife Warden, A & N Islands,for submitting a report to theCommittee. Site inspection wascarried out by Dr Rahamani onFebruary 12, 2012, along with therepresentatives of A & N ForestDepartment and Indian Navy. DrRahmani reported that the area is

important for presence of theendemic Nicobar Megapode,Megapodius nicobariensis nico-bariensis, a sub species of theNicobar Megapode, occurring on

seven islands of the Nancowrygroup. The population of this subspecies has declined to less than200 from above 2000 breedingpairs in 1990s and Tillangchong is

the only island holding the safestpopulation of the sub species. Healso reported presence of a fewother endemic species in the arealike Nicobar Bulbul, NicobarSparrowhawk, Coconut crab etc.The Island is considered sacred bythe Nicobarese communities andhunting of birds is not allowed.They had expressed their opinionagainst the proposal of the Navy.Dr Rahmani recommended thatthe proposal should not be recom-mended due to the unique statusof this habitat, and potentialdestruction of the habitat in thenearby area in case of misfire. Thereport was considered in the 25thmeeting held on 13th June 2012.In the meeting it was generally feltthat the area, being among thelast remaining habitats of anendemic bird, must be preserved.In the meeting, was also consid-ered to permit one pilot testing tounderstand the impact.

Subsequently several represen-tations and more informationwere received in the Ministryrelated to the conservation valueof the island. It is indicated thatthe proposed missile testing islikely to have highly damagingconsequences on the ecosystemincluding the endemic species.

Tillangchang: No Entry for Missiles

12 |back|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 15 OCTOBER 2012

PPrriinntteedd aanndd PPuubblliisshheedd bbyy BBaassuuddeevv DDaassss oonn bbeehhaallff ooff GGeezziirraa PPuubblliiccaattiioonnss PPvvtt.. LLttdd.. aatt WWiinnssttaarr,, 33,, PPoolliiccee MMoossqquuee SShhooppppiinngg CCoommpplleexx,, SSuuppppllyy LLaannee,, AAbbeerrddeeeenn BBaazzaarr,, PPoorrtt BBllaaiirr -- 774444110011.. PPrriinntteedd aatt GGeezziirraa PPrriinntteerrss,, PPoorrtt BBllaaiirr || FFoouunnddeerr EEddiittoorr:: PPaarraass RRaamm || EEddiittoorr:: ZZuubbaaiirr AAhhmmeedd || MMbb:: 99993322008811777711 || EEmmaaiill:: lliigghhttooffaannddaammaannss@@ggmmaaiill..ccoomm..

Robert Vadra, the poorfellow has unnecessarybecame target of con-

troversy, obviously for nofault of him. However, theonly blunder he committedis to marry in a family ofrulers. For this again, heshould not be blamed sincethe 'pairs' is made in heaven.The country owes manyobligations to the familyand, so, to Robert too.What's a big deal in it?"exclaimed he after finishinghis fifth round of 'HerculeseXXX' in a local bar here.

"A DANICS officer aftergetting his posting order toAndamans approachedAndaman Office in Delhi tohave some first-hand infor-mation about the facilitiesavailable in the islands. Hisqueries included: Goodschool existed? , Proper busservices? , 2BHK flat/houseon rent? , Helping hand forJharu-Phoncha? etc. Theanswering personnel, whencame to know about the sta-tus of the DANICS officer,simply said him not to worrybut to inform him the dateand flight of reaching PortBlair", the drunken personcontinued. Meanwhile,some curious drunkardssurrounded him and one ofthem offered him the sixthpeg.

He continued, "The offi-cer, gentleman to the core,landed at the Port Blair air-port to be received by localofficial here. A car was wait-ing to escort him whileanother car with other per-sonnel was there to take

care of his baggage. Thearriving Officer should notwait and take pain to collecthis luggage! He was drivento the posh Govt. guesthouse and the car was leftbehind for his use to go toSecretariat to report for hisduty and also otherwise.And thus before he becamea part of the Andaman gov-ernment, he became small'Lord'. In fact, some seniorofficer had only informedthe arrival of the officialfrom Delhi and the rest 'but-tering' and 'flirting' part wastaken care by us. Later, hewas provided with a bunga-low, chauffeur driven car,gardener, maid servant (ongovt. expense) and manyother privileges. Our juniorlevel officials with their fold-ed hands exhausted all theyhad expecting some favourfrom the senior officer aswell as from the new arrival.The Delhite official did awaywith his gentlemanship.This is human. If one show-ers privileges, favour andfacility to other, can never betermed as unwarranted infavour of the later"

"So is with Vadra. Hemight not have desired but isshowered favours becauseof his status by his friendsand others who expectfavour from the sourcesVadra is surrounded by. Andfortunately or unfortunatelyhis 'friends' are part ofGovernment in Position, so,a bone of contention forOpposition", he concludedwith his seventh peg.

—— MMuussaaffiirr

Vadra-What A Big Deal In It!

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MIGHTY FDN: The Floating Dockyard near Viper Island.

AAnn eelleemmeennttaarryy sscchhooooll tteeaacchheerr sseennddss tthhiiss nnoottee ttoo aallll ppaarr--eennttss oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt ddaayy ooff sscchhooooll.. ""IIff yyoouu pprroommiissee nnoott ttoo bbeelliieevvee eevveerryytthhiinngg yyoouurr cchhiilldd ssaayysshhaappppeennss aatt sscchhooooll,, II wwiillll pprroommiissee nnoott ttoo bbeelliieevvee eevveerryy--tthhiinngg yyoouurr cchhiilldd ssaayyss hhaappppeennss aatt hhoommee..