Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

The islanders, especially those from N&M Andaman were surprised by heightened presence of Govt Officials fortified with Police in their area, on Dec 8th 2010. The jinx soon broke when the officials zeroed into individual shops serving GO informing that since their shop falls within the Buffer Zone , they need to close their shops in compliance with Hon’ble Supreme Court Order dated 03/12/2010. It is really a nightmare for them because the GO says they need to close their shops by tomorrow ie., 9th or face action. Everybody is shell shocked. None of the affected parties has been given time, not even to seek redress in the court of law; Anger started brewing, there is large scale dissent among the islanders who were settled in this part of the country by Govt of India under various colonization schemes. Being a democratic country, its citizens are free to exercise their right to life and livelihood. But the GO served upon them violated such legitimate right guaranteed by Constituti...

All motorised vehicles are fitted with a registration plate (commonly called Number Plate) bearing registration mark, at the front and back, in specific size and colour combination depending upon the class of the vehicle. In India until June 30, 1989, the registration plate system adopted a scheme where the first 2 or 3 alphabets were the state code, followed by unique registration number (numeral upto 4 digits). Some of the older vehicles still carry this valid numbering scheme. In the early 2000, the number plate colour scheme was changed from white over black to black over white for private non-commercial vehicles, and from black over white to black over yellow for all other class of vehicles. Also in the revised system, first two letters of the registration mark represent the state in which the vehicle is registered and the next two digit (numerals) indicate the sequential number of the district. Third part is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. Once the 4 digit number reach...

The article in the Light of Andamans , V ol 35, I ssue 22 , dated 16 D ec 2011, titled “The Administration : A collective portrait” traces the predicament faced by A&N A dministration (called family) bare and nude. It is ironic that though part of Indian democracy, governance in these islands is “one way” affair; as if those outside the family neither have brains capable of analysing things nor have a heart which could bleed when hurt. Consequently the head of the family castled in the make believe world put up by the subordinate members of the family is unable to take a view considerate to the needs, expectations and aspirations of the islanders. I still remember the days when the head of the family had to tour N orth and M iddle A ndamans only to assure the islanders that their concerns on ATR and  Buffer Zone will be taken care of. He said “… B uffer Z one will not cause inconvenience…there will be no displacement in this count…” The promise was repeated in the cov...

Recently there has been a flurry of instances wherein innocent peoples lost their life under the wheels of misfortune, either because of ignorance or due to fault committed not by the self, but by fellow road users. With newer members added every day to the already oversized population of vehicles, the problem is getting compounded.  Pedestrians, the elderly, ladies, children and the physically challenged are the worst affected. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have seen rapid increase in the number of vehicles of all classes, especially personal cars have more than doubled since 2004. Courtesy aggressive marketing by enterprising car dealers fortified with equally enthusiastic loan providers, almost all the roads in and around Port Blair town now stands occupied by one or the other kind of 2, 3, 4, 6 or 10 wheelers! Almost every model, variant, brand, genre of vehicles could be seen rushing from one end of the city to the other. The consequences of such increased population ...

The grand uprising following protest by a Tunisian fruit vendor and setting himself ablaze in a public square generated a dissenting wave shaking empires the world over. The non-violent mode of public protest gained acceptance in such proportion that the entire (year) 2011 is being seen as the year of protests. Fittingly “ T he P rotester” is the TIME P erson of the year and A nna H azare features in the list of “ P eople W ho M attered” in the magazine. T he anticorruption movement launched by team A nna grabbed nationwide attention with flocks of people supporting the movement which led the union cabinet to reciprocate with passage of the L okpal bill. There are protests everywhere in the country. Farmers are on the streets demanding raise in minimum support price for farm produce. There are groups protesting against N uclear P ower P roject, dam and a range of issues across the country. Incidentally such protests are against decisions taken without consulting those who are going t...

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued notification for Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) to be held on 29 th January, 2012. Some Key dates are given below : Application Procedure : Online submission at website www.ctet.nic.in On submission of details, the system will generate a Confirmation page with Registration Number. Candidates are required to take printout of the Confirmation page, paste a photograph, sign in the space marked and send the confirmation page along with DD (if fee paid by DD) by Registered/Speed Post (NOT BY COURIER) to : The Assistant Secretary (CTET Unit), Central Board of Secondary Education, Shiksha Sadan, 17 Rouse Avenue, New Delhi - 110002 Application fee : Rs 500.oo : For General/OBC candidates Rs 250.oo : For SC/ST/Differently abled persons Payment can be made as follows : By DD (drawn in favour of The Secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education , payable at  Delhi) , Credit Card or Debit Card. Syllabus : ...

More than six years back, on December 26th 2004 the Andaman and  Nicobar Islands , along with the rest of the world were hit by a massive undersea earthquake shifting the islands towards south-west by about 1.25m. The tsunami that followed the mega-quake devastated the islands washing away almost anything to everything coming its way. Remote sensing and visual inspection of islands shoreline confirm uplift of Andaman group and subsistence of Nicobar group of islands causing submergence of land, destruction of property and loss of numerous lives. The Govt of India and few NGO’s responded to the crisis, helping survivors overcome trauma inflicted by the epic disaster. But after 6 long years of generous spending on tsunami relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding, the survivors, specifically from rural South Andaman find themselves subjected to official apathy and pushed under the development shadow. The ...