Poachers in Jarawa reserve
Even after taking several strict measures, poaching continues inside Jarawa Tribal Reserve. Recently, six poachers were apprehended for entering and fishing in the Jarawa area by the joint patrolling team of Andaman & Nicobar Police, Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samily (AAJVS) and forest department. The poachers often come in contact with Jarawa tribes and give them tobacco, alcohol and diseases too. It has resulted in prohibition of outside entry inside the Jarawa Tribal Reserve.
Conference of Lt Governors
The conference and review meeting of Lt Governors overshadowed every other event in the islands. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore on Wednesday. The meeting reviewed the decisions taken in the October event last year and the implementation of various schemes. It also dwelled on devising an implementation mechanism for ‘Gram Swaraj Abhiyan’. The event gave an opportunity for learning and replicating good practices being followed amongst various constituents. Puducherry Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi shared beautiful photos of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Twitter, giving a boost to the image of Andaman tourism.
More teeth for Coast Guard
To meet enhanced safety and security requirements, the Coast Guard headquarters is strengthening the fleet strength of Andaman and Nicobar Region by rebasing six more ships this year. Out of these six vessels, five - two fast patrol vessels and three interceptor boats - have joined the Coast Guard on Friday. These ships will be based at Port Blair, Kamorta and Diglipur. The augmentation of surface assets will enhance the reach and efficiency of the Coast Guard in undertaking an array of assignments, which it is assigned of in maritime zones associated with Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Errant auto drivers
After receiving a number of complaints, the transport department has decided to constitute a team for keeping a tab on overcharging by autorickshaw drivers. Recently, the transport department received the complaints mostly from tourists that the auto drivers overcharged them as per their own convenience. The vigilance team will now visit different parts of the city and travel in auto as commuters to check whether malpractices were rampant among the three-wheeler drivers as was being alleged.
Sanjib Kumar Roy
Our correspondent in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
laurelsforsanjib@gmail.com