Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

Convoy system in the stretch of A ndaman T runk R oad (ATR) passing through J arawa reserve between J irkarang and  M iddle   S trait , now a day is being used as a means to harass the common public. Rules are implemented tactfully to curtail free movement of common public whereas rules are flouted or relaxed to extend freedom and liberty to the elite few! A s per the system in force, plying of two wheelers is not allowed in the stretch of ATR between J irkatang and M iddle S trait . But the enforcer themselves ride two wheelers; one in front of the convoy and another in the middle of the convoy; every day, every trip, in broad day light. With the prescribed speed limit of 40 km/hour the distance of 47 K m between J irkatang and  M iddle   S trait  should take about 1 hr 10 min. But the convoy lead by two wheeler pilot, surprisingly takes about two hours. This means the enforcers themselves causes the convoy to proceed slowly at speeds less tha...

Port Blair, the capital city is the hub of all citizen centric services namely : the lone referral ( GB P ant) H ospital, A&N A dministration S ecretariat, office of the H on’ble LG/CS/D eputy C ommissioner, P olice H eadquarters, C ivil C ourts, D irectorates of various offices, S chools, E ngineering/ D egree C olleges, ITI, B usiness E stablishments, S hops, A irport, Seaport  and a whole lot of other public utility services. To avail of these services, a good number of peoples from rural S outh A ndaman i.e., F errar G anj T ehsil, the second most populous tehsil in ANI, visits P ort B lair every day through the sea route availing vehicle ferry service between B ambooflat and C hatham. According to a rough estimate approximately 14000 passengers including students, office goers, daily wage earners, patients, industrial workers and about a thousand vehicles comprising 2 wheelers , A uto rickshaw , 4 wheelers, cars etc depend on vehicle ferry and or passenger ferry boats ope...

The recent revision of convoy timings for travel between J irkatang - M iddle S trait and vice versa through which the number of convoys had been cut short to half of what it exists at present (ie., the existing 8 convoys stands reduced to 4 ) is going to create more problems than any good. Let us first take a comparative look at the revised as well as the existing timings. It appears that the existing 630 am, 7 am and 730 am convoy from J irkatang practically stands merged. Hence a large number of intending vehicles would make it to the first convoy. Which means the first convoy is expected to have around 8-10 buses, 60-70 passenger car and 15 - 20 goods vehicle which when lined up one behind the other, would reach a kilometer in length! Further the revised convoy intends to do away with the existing separate convoy for passenger and goods vehicles. This means the first convoy from J irkatang of around 100 vehicles comprising of bus, cars, tourist cabs, goods vehicles etc, whil...

My recent visit to Tagore Govt College of Education to attend its “Pearl Jubilee Celebration” had been a store full or surprise. The institution building wore a festive look with decorative sequential lights, colourful flags and the red carpet. I turned up 45 minutes ahead of time, yet found the epitome of education packed to its capacity. Everybody seemed amused and engaged in chit chat with friends whom they had been meeting after a long time. The trainees, alumni, teachers and other staff members of the institution, everybody were on their job making last minute arrangements. We recalled our days running around in the institution, learning while arranging such programs. Our teachers stood behind us lending support in every sphere of our activity. After a years study we moved on in our career path, a new batch took our place; a cycle that repeats year after year but the teachers, their vigor and enthusiasm remained afresh. They still stand firm behind their students, enablin...

The Inconvenient Truth Life   under island conditions had been peaceful and content until the epic disaster christened the “Great   Sumatra-Andaman   Earthquake” rattled our islands on the   26 th   day of December 2004 at 6.29am  IST ; triggering a massive tsunami that washed away anything to everything coming its way. The multiple-disaster caught the islanders unawares, mostly in their sleep following the Merry Christmas celebrations. Before the “boxing day” nobody had the slightest idea that the sea, amid which they had been leading their life, could threaten their very existence. The disaster turned out to be a learning experience for majority of islanders who got to know the word   tsunami ,   though sounds   Indian to our ears, is in-fact a word of   Japanese origin; meaning giant harbor waves generated by undersea tectonic or volcanic activity. The   2004   slow slip undersea earthquake incidentally shif...

The islanders recently woke up to a shocking incident of a minor girl forced into flesh trade. The incident came to light when A&N P olice raided one of the brothels (illegal) at G aracharma recently. The girl (minor) narrated (to the lady constable) the tragic turn of events that landed her in the brothel. The girl had been in a telephonic relationship with a boy (22 Y rs ) who in the pretext of marrying prompted her to elope with him. The innocent girl fell prey to the lure and left her parents house. They roamed around in the city visiting places. At the fall of the day, the boy took her to one of his friend’s house, where he reportedly raped her and later deserted the girl somewhere near C hatham and fled. Having lost her virginity, the girl could not garner courage to inform her parents of the trauma. Thereafter what happened is even worse, than what one could imagine. One after the other, three autorickshaw drivers, two police men, a hotel receptionist, waiter, two others, ...