PORT BLAIR: The recent deaths of eight Onge Tribesmen and another Jarawa Tribal boy, have forced the Andaman and Nicobar Administration to propose the closure of the most controversial Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) to the tourists to protect the primitive Jarawa tribe.
Six years ago on May 7, 2002- the Supreme Court passed a set of landmark orders to protect the Islands ecosystem, which included the closure of ATR that runs through the two Jarawa Reserve Forest, where the tribe has been living for more than thousands years.
Besides diseases, ATR brought alien food, intoxicants, and caused sexual exploitation of Jarawa Tribes and the tourists travelled through ATR just to see them and thus ‘Jarawa Tourism’ also began that resulted in further exploitation.
On November 19, 2008 Jarawa tribesmen had attacked and killed encroaching settlers when at least one Jarawa was killed. On December 8, 2008 23 Onge tribesmen consumed some poisonous liquid, mistaking the chemical that was washed ashore, for alcohol.
Out of the 23 tribesmen, eight died and 15 are still hospitalised.
These two incidents have caught the Andaman and Nicobar Administration by surprise and had forced the Lt Governor, Bhopinder Singh to order an inquiry into the death of eight Onge tribesmen.
During a high level meeting called on Wednesday under the Lt Governor’s Chairmanship, various issues pertaining to the welfare of the tribal population and measures to protect them from such incidents were discussed.
Bhopinder Singh issued instructions to the Police to ensure strict compliance of convoy system on the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) and emphasised that any violation of the convoy system be dealt with strictly by them.
Measures to close the ATR to the tourists in the near future to protect the primitive Jarawa tribe were also discussed, an Andaman and Nicobar administration official release said.
Jarawa activists and organisations working for tribal rights have been demanding for total closure of ATR since 2002 but the Administration had failed to act on the SC orders.
“If the Administration is thinking to close ATR for tourists then it’s a welcome step but Administration should have closed that ATR soon after Supreme Court’s order,” Samir Acharya, Secretary of SANE (Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology) told to this website's newspaper on Friday.
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