Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

“Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error” -       M arcus T ullius C icero Debkumar Bhadra |         Musings of an Islander    |         South Andaman There are countless individual tales of I ndia P ost (also referred to as S nail M ail) failing to deliver postal articles to its customers within the time frame stipulated none other than by itself. However, when it comes to remote localities such as my location ( S outh A ndaman – 744107 ), I ndia P ost has largely been doing a better job compared to private courier agencies, who not only charge hefty fees, but fail to deliver the service for which it charges such hefty fees. Let me quote an incident wherein a private courier company namely G ati- K we though it’s extremely slow delivery has put S nail M ail to shame. It was on 24 F ebruary, 2016 that I found a particular...

A decade after 2004 tsunami, the day stands still for K adakachang B ridge cum S luice G ate Debkumar Bhadra | Musings of an Islander | South Andaman More than a decade back on the fateful day of D ecember 26, 2004 the G reat S umatra- A ndaman earthquake jolted the  A ndaman and  N icobar  I slands out of slumber only to stand spectator to a giant tsunami that raided the islands washing away almost anything to everything falling its way. The S luice G ate at K adakachang in S outh A ndaman was one such structure that was severely damaged by the earthquake triggered tsunami. The swell also washed away a portion of the road at K adakachang creating a breach which added to flooding of large tracts of plantation and agricultural land belonging to old inhabitants of the region. Elsewhere in the islands, numerous lives were lost and properties worth crores damaged. Satellite image showing the Kakakachang Sluice Gate The Govt of India and a good nu...

Chennai Floods : I ndia P ost customer from A&N I sland find itself in the list of casualty! By Debkumar Bhadra | Musings of an Islander |South Andaman Unprecedented rains, followed by floods, during late N ovember and early D ecember this year wreaked havoc on the residents of the capital city of T amil N adu so much so that a lmost everyone in Chennai, the sprawling city with over 4.6 million people, had been affected one way or the other by the devastating floods caused by torrential rains.  It was reported that incessant downpour in the city   and other coastal regions of T amil N adu have broken records of last 100 years. However two weeks after the city limped backed to normalcy, #indiapost customer from A&N I sland find itself in the list of casualty, thanks to the inefficiency and lethargy of postal authorities. Speed P ost articles that landed at K olkata as early as 3rd D ecember are lying at K olkata for the past more than two weeks wi...

Following is the text of letter submitted to the Deputy Commissioner South Andaman/Excise Officer (HQ) in response to the public notice inviting opinion on the proposed change in bar timings to curb consumption of liquor in A&N Islands. Dear Sir At the outset I would like to place on record my appreciation towards the Chairperson A&N S tate S ocial W elfare B oard for the concern and its effort in curbing consumption of alcohol in these islands by suggesting reduction in business hours for serving liquor in bars in these islands. I would also like to record my sincere gratitude towards the D eputy C ommissioner (S outh A ndaman )/E xcise O fficer (HQ) for putting out public notice through T he D aily T elegrams dated S aturday, N ovember 14, 2015 inviting opinion from the public on the issue. Before going into the issue, I consider it worth making it clear beforehand that I am in favour of the proposed change (reduction) in bar timings. I believe the p...