Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

K P Mammu, the master athlete By Debkumar Bhadra Born on D ecember 12, 1973 in M annar G hat village of rural S outh A ndaman, K P M ammu, ever since the age of 12 Y rs, had been winning accolades and medals alike in the field of athletics both at the state as well as national level. Recently, I caught up with the master athlete, wherein he opened up to his past, future plans and the long cherished dream of winning a medal for his country at the international level. Recalling his journey, M ammu says after completing schooling from G ovt S enior S econdary S chool M annar G hat, he joined A ndaman & N icobar P olice F ire S ervice as  C onstable for a living in the year 1999 . Being part of the uniformed force, he is required hence maintains a level of physical fitness through routine exercise, drills and occasional sporting events. After school days, he seldom took part in competitive event, untill a departmental circular broke the routine. While posted...

Kadakachang Bridge cum Sluice Gate The bridge cum sluice gate at Kadakachang which got severely damaged by the 2004 Great Sumatra - Andaman earthquake triggered tsunami, finally has been rebuilt. As of now the finishing work is in progress. Once formally opened, the decade and a half long wait for the residents of rural South Andaman would come to an end. Earlier posts on the issue : The day stands still for K adakachang B ridge cum S luice gate https://debkumarbhadra.blogspot.com /2016/01/ the-day-stands-still-for-kadakachang.html Featured in the S pecial E dition of T he A ndaman E xpress dated 26/01/2016 6 Y ears is too long a wait https://debkumarbhadra.blogspot.com /2011/11/6 -years-and-counting.html Featured in the L ight of A ndamans dated 09/09/2011 The I nconvenient T ruth https://debkumarbhadra.blogspot.com/2011/08/inconvenient-truth.html Featured in the P ort B lair edition of E cho of I ndia dated 11/08/2011

Cable TV Conundrum : Monopoly sends customer to face blacked-out tv screens in contravention of TRAI regulation. By Debkumar Bhadra As far as delivery of services in these islands are concerned, it is no secret that customers had been getting a raw deal since choice in almost cent per cent cases is limited to single operator/service provider. Be it T elecom, I nternet, LPG , POL or C able TV N etworks “take it or leave it” is the regime that is in vogue in this monopolistic region. In a bid to dismantle the status quo in the broadcasting and cable service sector, the regulatory body T elecom R egulatory A uthority of I ndia (TRAI) way back in M arch 2017 , mandated compulsory switchover from analog to digitally addressable systems (DAS) for cable networks. However, finding that the stated objectives viz transparency and real choice to consumers, weren’t met, TRAI initiated a comprehensive review of the entire framework and came up with a completely new tariff regi...