PORT BLAIR: For nearly 600 passengers, the journey from Chennai to Port Blair via M V Akbar’s last sailing will always be remembered as their worst nightmare. M V Akbar reached Port Blair on April 19, 2009, but due to the mismanagement of the Shipping Department as well as the Port Management Board (PMB), the ship was allowed to berth only on Monday morning, causing a great deal of inconvenience to the poor passengers.
According to the passengers, the ship reached Port Blair harbour area around 4 pm, but it was not allowed inside the port area and the reasons for the delay was not conveyed to them. “There was neither sufficient food in the canteen, nor water inside the toilet blocks. For more than 12 hours, we were made to suffer like prisoners,” complained a passenger.
According to others, there was even uncertainty over whether dinner would be served onboard on Sunday night. The situation was so bad that at a point of time, frustrated and hungry passengers were even prepared to break the door of canteen for some food. Later, only the bunk class canteen was opened for passengers, including for those who had purchased first-class cabin tickets. When there was a shortage of food, some passengers were given boiled eggs with rice, it is alleged.
“The air-conditioning was not working. Even the wall-fans were out of order in the dormitory section and many cabins. The behaviour of the crew left much to be desired. For every small problem, we were told to complain only to the captain of the ship,” complained another passenger.
The ship was berthed on Monday morning and with this, the night-long nightmare of the passengers came to an end. But the PMB doesn’t seem to have learned any lesson from this incident. The Chief Port Administrator was apparently unaware of the incident. “Is it true? I came back this afternoon, let me find out,” S Anantha Chandra Bose, the Chief Port Administrator of Port Management Board in Andaman, told The New Indian Express. Others officers of the PMB were found blaming the passengers for the inconvenience. “Two of our Tugs (Tug boats) were out of order and we were dependent on the Tugs of the Indian Navy. Last night, we didn’t get Tugs and when we got them this morning, the ship was brought in,” Captain Jaisa Sai of the Harbour Master (in-charge) of PBM told Express this evening. “The behaviour (of the passengers) was totally unruly,” the Harbour Master added.