Monday, June 14, 2010

ANDAMAN - A SEA OF CHANGE IN 30 YEARS

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A Sea of Change in 30 Years

 
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With silver sands, lagoons and enchanting seamless greenery, the Andamans have always been a destination worth visiting. Tourism is the bread & butter of the people of these exquisite islands. Unlike the vignettes of Port Blair more than a quarter century ago, one can today find many eateries and lodges that suit one’s taste buds as well as budget.

 

Over the years, new places have been thrown open to the tourists, like the Ross Island where the settlement’s headquarters was first established, the Viper Island where penal settlement was first established, and Chatham Island where Asia’s First and Biggest Saw Mill was established and is still functioning.

 

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The historic Chatham Island housing Asia’s First & Biggest Saw Mill

 

New museums like the Samudrika marine museum, forest museum and the fisheries aquarium boast of rare collection of flora and fauna of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Anthropological Museum is worth a visit, what with Old Stone Age Jarawa and Sentinel tribes still surviving in the islands, against all odds.

 

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A couple of days ago, I happened to come across a pretty interesting piece of travelogue by one Mr. S. Balakrishnan, who had stayed in the islands about 30 years ago and had recently made a tour to the islands after staying away all these years. I liked most of what he has said about the sea-change that he observed in multifarious aspects of development in the territory, while on tour. Hence, I feel tempted to share it with you all, here, so that you could fathom the immense difference one feels in the Andamans of yesteryears and those of today. Read on…

 

It was a revisit to India’s emerald islands in the east embellishing the Bay of Bengal. Reflections of life and times in Port Blair three decades ago flashed through the mind as Indian Airlines carrier touched down Veer Savarkar airport.

 

The images of the past and the realities of the present were quite striking. The transformation that the Andaman Islands have gone through was palpable during a recent week-long crisscross of the islands. From buildings to bridges, from roads to bye lanes, beaches to skyline, the canvas of this coral island portrayed a sea change.

 

For an island territory lying away from the mainland and spread North-South across the deep sea over a length of 800 kilometers, transport is the lifeline. Whereas initially there was only a once-a-week flight from Kolkata, and later from Chennai, now there are daily flights from these two cities, even by private airlines. Additional services are also operated as and when necessary.

 
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Similarly, for inter-island transport, helicopter service has been introduced linking Diglipur, the farthest town of North Andamans to Campbell Bay located in the southernmost part, in Nicobar Group of Islands. Talking of sea cruise, both the mainland to island service and inter-island services have improved a lot. As far as surface transport is concerned, privatization has eased the problem to a great extent. The ubiquitous auto rickshaw has also reached the islands.

 

Construction of Great Andaman Trunk Road (now National Highway 223) has certainly paved the way for improved infrastructure. However, the road building, which started in 1970s, had turned controversial as it cuts through the ‘reserved’ forest areas of the Jarawa tribe, a Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) group. The current plans to widen the road have further aggravated its impact on the habitat of the Jarawas.

 

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The Anthropological Museum at Port Blair

 

The advent of cell phone has turned out to be a great boon to the nearly four lakh population in the islands. Not only one could converse with people in the mainland at the press of a button, but could also speak with the same ease and clarity to an acquaintance in the southernmost island of Great Nicobar, where the inter-island ferry takes two days to reach. Postal facilities have also markedly improved, the efficient speed post service scored where a private courier service failed to reach the remote Baratang.

 

Snorkeling and cruising in glass-bottomed boats and scuba diving for the trained and experienced are the new attractions. Watching lakhs of jelly fish gently float by in the waters of Mahatma Gandhi National Marine Park was like watching Discovery Channel live. Near Baratang, the Parrot Island, mud volcano, limestone cave and mangrove canopy walk are the added attractions for tourists who love to be with Nature.

 

At the same time, responsible tourism that protects and conserves nature is also strictly followed. Tourists are not allowed to pick and bring back prohibited sea shells and corals. 

 
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Limestone caves at Baratang, South Andaman

 

A lot of renovation and beautification works have been done in and around the cellular Jail, now a National Memorial in honor of our freedom fighters who languished under colonial oppression since 1857. A museum has been created depicting the history of penal settlement and the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters so that we could be free. Watching the sound and light show in the premises of the Cellular Jail that chronicles the courage and sacrifice of our freedom fighters was a time worth spent.

 

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The Cellular Jail

 

Cut off from the hustles and bustles of mainland, the social life on the island, lacks luster. However, it is made up by satellite and Cable TV and DVDs, that throw open the whole world at the flick of the remote. Take a stroll through the National Highway 223 - the memories etched thirty years ago get overlapped by the transformation over the years.

 

The look of the bazaars has changed. From what used to be a lazy marketplace that got to life only when ships from the mainland arrived, is now bustling with regular shops that include gold jewellery marts and mini supermarkets stocking almost everything and anything. Local handicrafts sector has improved vastly. LPG cooking gas has reached the islands and so has milk, where milk powder was the only source for milk then. Local production of fruits and vegetables has seen a marked improvement yet, much of the demand is still being met from the mainland and hence a bit costlier.

 

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The Aberdeen Bazar at Port Blair

 

Despite a manifold increase in power consumption, diesel generators are still the only source of power supply. Other sources of energy like gobar/bio gas, solar, wave, and wind can be tried in a big way. Similarly, there seemed to be a perennial shortage of water despite rains for more than six months a year. Saline water treatment plant could be established and water harvesting, even in small quantities, should be encouraged.
 
Though life in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands has improved a lot in general, development is always at the cost of Nature. We have to tread very carefully, at least as far as the tribes are concerned.” 

 

Courtesy: www.jansamachar.net Original Source: PIB


12 comments:

  1. wow.. this post is really cool. I would love to have a guest post from you on my blog on Andamans travel. Do let me know your interests

    Cheers!
    Sneha

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  2. @Sneo Oh, thanks a bushel, dear Sneo, for the passionate admiration, indeed! Sure, I would love to contribute to your good travel blog as a guest blogger. Will rejoin to you as soon as schedules permit.

    Thanks very much again for the kind proposal and for your email ID, too. Cheers & have a groovy day ahead!!! :-))

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  3. Hello,

    I found this posing through TrafficSwarm.

    You got some awful nice pictures in your interesting article. I have tweetet the post as I think others should pass by and enjoy too.

    Regards
    Michael

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  4. Beautiful post with shots. All I wanted to know about the island is here.

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  5. @Michael Johansen Thanks a bushel, dear Michael, for your kind eulogy and tweet, as well. This is what keeps me going. See you back soon for more from you. Cheers! :-)

    @Rajesh Thanks, dear Rajesh and enjoy reading and sharing it all with your friends. Cheers! :-)

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  6. Awesome pics :)i wish i was there.

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  7. @Shabnam Sultan Hi, dear Shabnam! Great to see you back here after quite some time. Thank you and I wish you visit here soon. Cheers! :-)

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  8. Thank you so much for sharing all these.. I hope one day I'll be able to go there, armed with the knowledge you provided here.

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  9. @Mika All my pleasure, dear Mika! Thanks very much for eulogising my efforts and writings! And yes, I'm sure it would be an unforgettable experience when you visit the islands here with the prior in-depth knowledge about the historic venue. Do keep me posted and see you here back soon. Cheers! :-)

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  10. Oh my God! This is a nice place!!!!

    We can benefit both by exchanging links. We have related blog.

    http://iamproudofmycountrybecause.blogspot.com/

    Keep it up!

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  11. @cpareview Sure! I will do that! Thank you! See you back here soon. Cheers! :-)

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  12. Mr Shrinath, i wonder whether Barren Isle volcano is still active, since you have not mentioned in your article....any further news on it is welcome, since i have to update my blog on it particularly after the Japanese Tsunami

    ReplyDelete