PURI: Amrit Kujur was accorded a rousing welcome by people of Andaman islands, particularly his native Shaheed Dweep, upon his arrival at Port Blair airport on Thursday.His family consisting of wife Lily, three daughters and two sons were also present at the airport to receive Amrit who was lost at sea for 28 days before his boat washed ashore near Khirisahi village along Chilika coast here on October 22.
Meanwhile, messages started pouring into the mail box and WhatsApp number of Puri Collector Balwant Singh expressing gratitude for his humanitarian action in taking good care of Amrit and ensuring his return to Shaheed Dweep.
In a letter to the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar islands, leading NGO Island Protection Forum has requested for issuing commendation letters in favour of Singh, fisherman Parvat who rescued Amrit from the ill-fated boat after it washed ashore, Krushnaprasad IIC Abhimanyu Nayak and manager of the shelter home Soumya Ranjan Pradhan where Amrit had stayed.
The letter stated that there was frequent communication between the Puri Collector and Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman. As per agreed schedule, Singh arranged the flight ticket for Amrit from Bhubaneswar to Port Blair and sent an officer along with him to Kolkata airport. Andaman officials escorted Amrit from Kolkata to his native island.
Amrit and a friend had set out from Andaman to sell consumer goods, rice, edible oils and spices to people residing in nearby islands and ships anchored in the sea when his boat was caught in a storm on September 28. Drifting in the Bay of Bengal, they reached the Myanmar Naval Port where Navy officers filled their boat with 260 litre of fuel and the two headed for Andaman. However, Amrit lost his companion Ranjan to starvation and dehydration mid-sea.