Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

Island villagers opposed to liquor outlets in their area – a success story By  Debkumar Bhadra Apropos news item “ V illagers oppose opening of liquor outlets in LA ” carried in E cho of I ndia dated A ugust 21, 2019. Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to congratulate the villagers for raising objection against liquor outlet in L ittle A ndaman. My thanks are also due to E cho of I ndia for giving prominence to the news item. Representational Image It is well established fact that alcoholism is the mother of all evils, the root cause of deteriorating social values, failing morals, matrimonial discord, diminished productivity, loss of livelihood, poverty, poor health and a variety of other ailments. Women, children and a large section of the population belonging to the lower income group are the worst affected. Easy availability of liquor is adding to their woes; there are reports that say school going juveniles and youths are increasingly ...

Will the workers 13 years wait for settlement of VRS dues meet its logical end? Perhaps how the I sland A dministration responds to the decree would decide what the answer be. Those who followed my earlier post on the issue might be aware more than 800 workers of the erstwhile M/S A ndaman T imber I ndustries L td (popularly known as ATI ) have not been paid retirement and statutory dues admissible to them since the factory closed in the fall of 2000 . Estranged workers raised the issue in every available forum. Even a favourable L abour C ourt A ward was not honoured. This article traces the issue that has been hanging fire for more than 13 years.   Factory's two of the three sheds collapsed on 26 Dec 2004 due to the Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake M/S A ndaman T imber I ndustries L imited had its P lywood manufacturing factory at S hore P oint V illage near B ambooflat J etty in S outh A ndaman. The factory started sometime in the early 60’s with a modest t...

Aasche bochor Aabar hobe The A ndaman and N icobar I slands are often referred to as ‘ M ini I ndia’ owing to its multitude of culture, language and religious belief perfectly blending into an entity which complement and strengthen the social fabric of the islands. The harmony eventually draws islanders closer to the point of rejoicing each other’s festivals and festivities. Durga P uja is one such special occasion wherein a large stratum of the society engages itself in the celebration that marks defeat of M ahisashura (evil) at the hands of G oddess D urga. A view of Durga Puja mandap at Bambooflat Jetty in South Andaman in the Year 2008 According to H indu mythology ‘ M ahisashura’ through extreme austerity and prolonged meditations earned the favour of ‘ L ord B rahma’ in the form of a boon that no ‘ M an or D eity’ would be able to kill him. Endowed with the divine blessing, M ahisashura (in the form of a giant buffalo) unleashed a reign of terror over E arth and ...