Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Andaman. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Andaman. Sort by date Show all posts

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Andaman & Nicobar Islands, A Forgotten Paradise

During my two-week stay in the islands, this was one discussion constantly coming up no matter which island I went to. The beaches at Andaman and Nicobar islands are just as good. The waters here shimmer in a million shades of blue and the dive sites are one of the best all over the world. Everyone, from the tourism department to resort owners and private tour operators as well as the locals, talks about this.

They knew the answer lay in the lack of infrastructure. I can vouch for that. Having travelled to few remote islands in the Andaman group, I understood what they meant. My deep-rooted need to escape the crowd drove me to places as remote as Long Island and Little Andaman. I stayed in dingy places and stared alone, taking in the wondrous views. When my phone caught signal after a week, I called home. My family chided me because I didn’t take them with me to Andaman. I retorted saying they wouldn’t be able to stay at the places that I did and travel the way that I did. But in reality, I truly wished I could show them what I saw.

Port Blair and Havelock Island are the only places with good accommodation options. Elsewhere you are at the mercy of some enterprising locals who thought of setting up lodging facility. These places, mainly targeting the foreign backpacker, have put up extremely basic accommodation. Connectivity between the islands is a problem too, with ships running on limited schedules. While it sounds very exotic to stay in remote islands with absolutely no tourists and facilities, it doesn’t do much good to the locals.

Muthu, a migrant from Kovalam who now runs a surf board rental in Little Andaman, tells me the government decision to ban camping on the beaches has been good to the locals. “If everyone camps on the beach, then what do we get?” he asks. Indro’s family migrated to Andaman many years ago, even before he was born. Today, he lives in Kalipur with his wife and three children. Before the only private resort in Kalipur opened up, he couldn’t find much work and supporting his family wasn’t that easy. He tells me things have been much better since he got work at the resort. He now takes guests hiking up Saddle Peak among others.

In early 2000s, the three existing timber factories were shut down when the Supreme Court banned logging in the islands. This left the many migrant factory workers without a living. Today, they live off the island by fishing, few on pension and others take up small jobs here and there. But the youth still remains largely unemployed in most of these islands. Long Island is a remote island that can be reached by a six-hour boat ride from Havelock. Pawan, a teenager from this island, accompanied me on my three-hour trek to the pristine Lallaji Bay. When I asked him what he did for a living, spitting the tobacco, he answered very casually that he took up odd jobs on the island every now and then. Back at the resort in Long Island, a young girl named Soniya served me tea. Just about a month ago, having heard of this place, she convinced her parents in Rangat, a small town in Middle Andaman, to let her work here.

Tourism could be a key proponent in boosting the economy and solving the unemployment problem in the rising settler population. The islands have immense potential. But like any other place, this place is unique in its own right and tourism has to be managed carefully in a way not to disturb the delicate balance of the existing ecosystem. The forests are pristine and the marine life remarkable, lot of them endemic to these islands. In fact, the place is so remote and so pristine I have half a mind to not write anything about it and let it be the well-kept secret that it is today.

Havelock Island is already beginning to show effects of excess tourism. These islands survive on limited resources which makes it even more imperative to share the tourism load between different islands. In order to protect the islands, however, cutting down tourism at the roots is not the solution. The solution lies in managing tourism in collaboration with the locals to generate enough income and awareness.

Even before taking on tourism on a large scale, there are a few critical problems that have to be addressed first. The major one being that of power generation. Of the 572 islands, 38 are inhabited and almost all these islands depend on diesel for electricity! Considering diesel has to be imported from the mainland and electricity is provided at highly subsidised rates, the government incurs huge losses and I am scared to even consider the massive carbon footprint of the islands. Local resources such as solar, tidal, wind and bio-mass could be considered as alternative options for power generation. The second is that of solid waste management. I have seen parts of the pristine shore lines at Havelock and Neil filled with plastic waste that wash up from the sea.

When I was travelling from Port Blair to Neil by ship, many times the ship passed by plastic bottles floating in the blue waters. Apart from garbage generated by tourists, washed up plastic from the mainland also forms a bulk of the waste collected on the shore. As of now, most of the trash is either thrown into the sea or burnt. GreenLife Society, a local NGO, has tied up with several resorts in Havelock to collect and recycle the plastic waste and has seen some success. But steps have to be taken on a much higher level to deal with all the plastic in the islands.

Apart from these, the islands are also facing a lot of environmental issues, such as several endemic floras in the forests of Interview Island being destroyed by the abandoned elephants used for logging earlier or the introduced species of deer wreaking havoc on the growth of new forest or that of bleached corals. Despite all this, it is extremely sad that the only two occasions when Andaman & Nicobar was talked about was when Tsunami struck and the issue of Jarawas’ exploitation popped up.

About 1,200 km away from the mainland, we almost seem to have forgotten that this paradise is part of India too with its share of problems. These islands are too precious to be ignored and everyone deserves a chance to witness the extraordinary beauty here. The trick is in finding a balance between growing tourism and preserving the islands and that is a very delicate balance indeed.

Saturday, October 05, 2013

Andaman's 'Jarawas' Comes Out Of Forest Demanding Food

By Salim Merchant / Port Blair

In an interesting development, a group of 10 people from the Andaman's Jarawa community have come out of the forest at Kadamtala Island in Middle Andaman and protested at the  Kadamtala panchayat office demanding that they wanted meet the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to lodge a complaint with him for shortage of food items.

Friday, April 19, 2013

THREAT TO INDIA : ANDAMAN FACES KARGIL-TYPE OF INVASION

By M H Ahssan / Port Blair

The 572 big and small Andaman and Nicobar Islands that are of enormous economic and strategic value to India are increasingly vulnerable to a Kargil-type foreign invasion, and the Union government has no policies to prevent this. 

The Indian Navy is setting up the Far Eastern Naval Command (FENC) off Port Blair in the islands to give it "blue-water" status but naval officials admit that the strategic command could become vulnerable if the foreign invasion is not checked. 

One-and-a-half-year-old official estimates of the foreigners in the Andamans top 50,000 but officials say the numbers are larger. The mainland Indian and aboriginal population is roughly 4 lakh though official figures are 2 lakh. 

Foreigners from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have permanently settled in the islands using fake Indian ration cards while citizens of Thailand, China, Indonesia and Malaysia have migrated temporarily to plunder the natural resources and leave. "Port Blair, Havelock Islands, Diglipur, Middle Nicobar, Campbell's Bay, Neil Islands and Rangott are mostly overrun by foreigners," said an official. 

The nightmare for officials is a Chinese takeover of the Andamans. China has already leased Coco Islands from Myanmar and set up a listening post against Indian naval activity in the Eastern naval command and the Bay of Bengal and the missile testing facilities in Orissa.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Tsunami Survivors Still At Sea

By Shivani Chaudhry

It is now over four years since the tsunami wreaked its havoc. For most people in India, the tsunami is a closed chapter. The national media no longer considers it important to talk about rehabilitation or the status of the tsunami survivors. After all, a four-year-old story is not 'breaking news', is it?

No news is good news, one assumes. Not in this case. Nothing can justify the current mess, nothing can pardon the government's egregious lapses, nothing can condone the fact that survivors are still living in tin sheds, unsuitable for cattle habitation, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

On the one hand, is the sheer neglect and failure of the state to provide adequate rehabilitation and its direct role in abetting human rights violations of survivors. On the other, is a more planned political agenda of using the post-tsunami climate to maximize gains at the expense of the survivors - the rise of what Naomi Klein has termed "disaster capitalism".

While survivors languish in tin shelters, sub-standard houses fall apart and coastal communities are being denied their customary rights and forced to relocate to distant sites, the government has refused to fund 'in-situ' housing reconstruction. Even the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991 faces threat of being replaced with the anti-people Coastal Management Zone Notification 2008. While multilateral development banks raise their post-disaster portfolios, funds are diverted towards infrastructure and other development, and houses being built for tsunami survivors shrink to a paltry 180 sq. ft. The 'public-private partnership' for profit maximization under the cloak of rehabilitation is slowly becoming evident.

Although the state claims to have developed a comprehensive rehabilitation package, Dalits and Irulas in Tamil Nadu find themselves being left out and women-headed households are being denied housing. Today, almost 95 per cent of the tsunami-hit in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands await permanent housing. The Supreme Court interim order calls for consultation with affected communities, but housing plans in the Islands fail to incorporate basic community needs and cultural preferences. While funds in India for tsunami rehabilitation amounted to a whopping Rs 1,19,070 million, the Public Accounts Committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have highlighted diversion of funds and irregularities in spending.

The issue of the continued violation of human rights of tsunami survivors prompted several organizations and movements to hold a National Peoples' Tribunal on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation: Housing, Land, Resources and Livelihoods in Chennai on December 18 and 19 last year. Survivors from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala came together to draw attention to their prolonged suffering and raise a collective voice against the government's failed rehabilitation. The Tribunal's jury, headed by former judge of Mumbai High Court, Justice Suresh, strongly condemned the government for its failure to meet its moral and legal responsibility. It also cited the absence of monitoring mechanisms and non-compliance with judicial orders which has resulted in not just debilitating delays but in grave violations of human rights to adequate housing, land, work, food, health, education, and security.

Disasters impact different communities disproportionately, and women always face the worse. In the case of the tsunami, too, their livelihood concerns have not been adequately addressed and they are not considered eligible for alternative housing. The aftermath of the tsunami has also deepened the feminization of poverty.

During the tribunal, Indravalli from Keechankuppam in Nagapattinam district, testified that she lost her husband in the tsunami, and now her livelihood was at stake. "Shifting us away from the sea and denying us access to the coast is like taking away our life. Our fishing activities are greatly affected," she said. Swapna Sundari from Nochi Nagar, Chennai, talked about the plight of Dalit communities, lamenting that "even four years after the disaster, relief is still a dream for us." Kalyani, an Irula tribal from near Mamallapuram, brought to light the fact that 13 Irula villages did not have electricity, sanitation, roads or drinking water. Several petitions were submitted to the government but no response was received.

Despite the fact that over 100,000 homes were destroyed or damaged in the tsunami, a comprehensive post-disaster national housing policy does not exist. Moreover, there has been no attempt to consult affected communities or to monitor housing. This has resulted in faulty designs and poor construction, with houses already showing signs of disrepair. Several housing sites are situated in low-lying flood-prone areas. Furthermore, families have not been given security of tenure over permanent housing. In Nagapattinam, people were given a conditional order stating that their houses could be taken by the government for a "public purpose" without any compensation.

In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, of the planned 9,565 permanent shelters only 250 have been allotted. The situation is horrifying as families have been living in minuscule sheds for over four years, and have to cope with overcrowding, leakages, excessive heat and humidity.

The absence of basic services in most resettlement sites has contributed to grossly inadequate living conditions. In Wandoor temporary shelter in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar, people lived without electricity and water for a year. The distance of resettlement sites from schools and hospitals has caused dropout rate of children to rise and has adversely affected the health of residents. Instances of women giving birth in autorickshaws have been reported, as they were not able to reach hospital in time, have been reported.

Listening to the problems of the survivors, the great damage being done in the name of rehabilitation becomes obvious. The Tribunal's jury called upon the central and concerned state governments to adequately restore livelihoods; halt evictions of coastal communities; implement the SC interim orders and CAG recommendations related to the tsunami; urgently provide basic facilities in all resettlement sites; develop a comprehensive post-disaster policy, based on international human rights standards; and develop effective accountability, monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms.

K.N. Mahalingam from Hut Bay, Andaman, had travelled all the way to Chennai for the Peoples' Tribunal. He wanted a chance to have his story heard, with the hope that it would make the authorities act. He wanted permanent housing, developed with people's participation. Tragically, he passed away the day after the tribunal ended.

Mahalingam died waiting for a house. Let that not happen to anyone else. Rehabilitation is not merely about compensation but about fulfilling the right to live with dignity and peace. Rehabilitation is a human right.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Massive Invasion Of 'Snowflake Soft Coral' Threatens Reef Ecosystem In Andaman & Nicobar Islands In India

By Bhagwati Nair | Port Blair

The soft coral was noticed in Wandoor jetty in the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, Andaman, in June 2009. Snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei), a shallow fast-growing soft coral, is posing a major threat to the coral reef colonies in the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Director of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) K. Venkataraman told INN Live that the invasion by this soft coral on the coral reef colonies was first reported in Kundol Island in Nicobar in May 2009.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Kalapani jail is 100 years old


By M H AHSAN

Over 150 Indians who served various sentences in Kalapani jail during the British regime for defying the orders of the administration or rebelling against the system were invited to take part in the celebrations of the 100 years of the establishment of the Cellular Jail on March 10, 2006.

"From the unmatched sacrifices of our freedom fighters to the tyranny of our colonial rulers, from being a torture cell to a place of pilgrimage, this historical monument has come a long way since its establishment 100 years back as a penal settlement. Cellular Jail, stood mute witness to the tortures meted out to the freedom fighters, who were incarcerated in this jail," said a press handout given to mediapersons in Delhi.

It acquired the name, 'cellular' because it is entirely made up of individual cells for the solitary confinement of prisoners. It originally was a seven-pronged, puce-coloured building with a central tower and a massive structure comprising honeycomb like corridors. The building was subsequently damaged and presently only three out of seven prongs are intact. The jail, now a place of pilgrimage for all freedom-loving people, has been declared a national memorial.

Situated in Andaman, Kalapani punishment was meant to serve as a deterrent to Indian freedom fighters fighting against the British. Netaji Subash Chandra Bose hoisted the tri-colour near the cellular jail on December 30, 1943, and proclaimed independence from British rule.

It was the British-run Bengal government, and Governor General of India Lord Cornwallis, who conceived the idea of developing the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, as a British colony in the 1700s.

Two officers – one of them was Lieutenant Archibald Blair (that's how Port Blair got its name) -- were sent to survey the area. A settlement was established on Chatham Island in a southeastern bay of the Great Andaman and was called Port Cornwallis (later its name was changed to Port Blair). There was much illness on the islands and the colony did not work out so the settlers were shipped back to the mainland.

The British government had too many prisoners on its hand, post the Mutiny of 1857 and the idea of establishing a settlement – this time a convict colony -- was revived. Some 200 prisoners were sent out initially to a jail, equipped with gallows, at Viper Island 15 minutes from Port Blair, and Kalapani was established.

The construction of Cellular Jail -- which got its name from the fact that it was made up of numerous individual cells it provided for prisoners destined for solitary confinement -- began in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The British authorities arrested hundreds of revolutionaries as more and more rebellions against the British surfaced across India. And hundreds of these prisoners were shipped out to Port Blair and were housed and ill-treated in this jail.

Veer Savarkar, many associates of Sardar Bhagat Singh, several revolutionaries of the Chittagong Revolt were some of the freedom-fighters who spent time at Cellular Jail.

The Andaman and Nicobar tourism authorities are commemorating the history of this jail with special ceremonies today.

Three surviving freedom-fighters -- Bimal Bhowmick, Kartik Sarkar and Adhir Nag -- were invited to Port Blair, as well as spouses, sons and daughters of deceased freedom fighters. There will be special functions to honour the heroes of 1857. Shubha Mudgal and Suresh Wadkar will participate in a special music programme Friday evening.

Kalapani jail is 100 years old


By M H AHSAN

Over 150 Indians who served various sentences in Kalapani jail during the British regime for defying the orders of the administration or rebelling against the system were invited to take part in the celebrations of the 100 years of the establishment of the Cellular Jail on March 10, 2006.

"From the unmatched sacrifices of our freedom fighters to the tyranny of our colonial rulers, from being a torture cell to a place of pilgrimage, this historical monument has come a long way since its establishment 100 years back as a penal settlement. Cellular Jail, stood mute witness to the tortures meted out to the freedom fighters, who were incarcerated in this jail," said a press handout given to mediapersons in Delhi.

It acquired the name, 'cellular' because it is entirely made up of individual cells for the solitary confinement of prisoners. It originally was a seven-pronged, puce-coloured building with a central tower and a massive structure comprising honeycomb like corridors. The building was subsequently damaged and presently only three out of seven prongs are intact. The jail, now a place of pilgrimage for all freedom-loving people, has been declared a national memorial.

Situated in Andaman, Kalapani punishment was meant to serve as a deterrent to Indian freedom fighters fighting against the British. Netaji Subash Chandra Bose hoisted the tri-colour near the cellular jail on December 30, 1943, and proclaimed independence from British rule.

It was the British-run Bengal government, and Governor General of India Lord Cornwallis, who conceived the idea of developing the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, as a British colony in the 1700s.

Two officers – one of them was Lieutenant Archibald Blair (that's how Port Blair got its name) -- were sent to survey the area. A settlement was established on Chatham Island in a southeastern bay of the Great Andaman and was called Port Cornwallis (later its name was changed to Port Blair). There was much illness on the islands and the colony did not work out so the settlers were shipped back to the mainland.

The British government had too many prisoners on its hand, post the Mutiny of 1857 and the idea of establishing a settlement – this time a convict colony -- was revived. Some 200 prisoners were sent out initially to a jail, equipped with gallows, at Viper Island 15 minutes from Port Blair, and Kalapani was established.

The construction of Cellular Jail -- which got its name from the fact that it was made up of numerous individual cells it provided for prisoners destined for solitary confinement -- began in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The British authorities arrested hundreds of revolutionaries as more and more rebellions against the British surfaced across India. And hundreds of these prisoners were shipped out to Port Blair and were housed and ill-treated in this jail.

Veer Savarkar, many associates of Sardar Bhagat Singh, several revolutionaries of the Chittagong Revolt were some of the freedom-fighters who spent time at Cellular Jail.

The Andaman and Nicobar tourism authorities are commemorating the history of this jail with special ceremonies today.

Three surviving freedom-fighters -- Bimal Bhowmick, Kartik Sarkar and Adhir Nag -- were invited to Port Blair, as well as spouses, sons and daughters of deceased freedom fighters. There will be special functions to honour the heroes of 1857. Shubha Mudgal and Suresh Wadkar will participate in a special music programme Friday evening.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Impact Of Human Safaris

The ethical and moral implication of showcasing tribal communities for the purpose of tourism has often given rise to fierce controversy. Should these communities be made to expose their culture and lifestyle in return for money? The arguments are intense.

Human safaris basically refers to the practice of organizing tourist expeditions to areas inhabited by cut-off and isolated communities. The focus of these expeditions is the ethnic people and their lifestyle. There have been strong protests registered by various human rights and ethical groups over human safaris. The issue became the topic of fierce debate when it was revealed that tour organizers to the Andaman and Nicobar islands offered money to tribals living in the dense forests to perform their traditional dance for tourists. 

Reports also indicate that every often tour operators try and incite tourists to these human safaris by offering titillating accounts of the experience awaiting them. An article published in the Guardian, UK quotes extensively from brochures published by various tribal companies. Some of the brochures make for shocking reading. For example, the Guardian has republished an excerpt from a travel brochure exhorting people to take a tour to see the Bonda tribals in Orissa states, “The scanty dress of the Bonda women and the homicidal tendency of the Bonda males make them the most fascinating people.” Yet another brochure claims that the agency would show tourists “The lifestyle of tattooed, heavily beaded, nearly naked tribal people, their day to day activity and their extremely primitive way of living.”

Human rights activists and non-government organizations working for the welfare of the tribals have flayed the practice of human safaris. The main argument is that by asking tribals to dance and sing for the amusement of tourists is reducing them to a sub-human level. Such tours are against the very concept of human dignity.

There is also a danger that the exposure can do incalculable harm to the tribal’s lifestyle as well as their health. There have been instances when entire isolated communities have been totally wiped out once they were exposed to “outsiders” and “outside influences.” Continuing with the examples of the Andaman and Nicobar tribes, experts quote the example of the Great Andamanese. The tribe which numbered 3000 was wiped out once their traditional lands were encroached upon by timber companies. In fact, studies indicate that it is communities who fiercely protect their isolation who continue to survive.

The human safaris also pose a health hazard for the tribals. These areas have no medical facilities and the tribals are not immunized against diseases like measles and mumps. As a result, exposure to such diseases from the tourists who come to see them could result in serious health problems for the tribals.

But there is the other side of the coin too. There are critics who flay the policy of isolation that ensures that the tribals will continue with the present lifestyle. Their argument is that it is not right to deny the benefits of modern living to the tribals. The state or human right organizations, they claim, cannot decide how the tribals will live. If the tribals wish to make contact with the outside world and earn money by exhibiting their traditional skills, they cannot be deprived of this right. The choice about what kind of lifestyle they should lead should be a decision made by the tribals themselves.

Perhaps the best way to avoid the demeaning aspects of the human safari would be up to the tourists themselves. People visiting such areas should be sensitive enough to ensure that the dignity of the tribals is maintained and that there is no exploitation.

Human safaris basically refers to the practice of organizing tourist expeditions to areas inhabited by cut-off and isolated communities. The focus of these expeditions is the ethnic people and their lifestyle. There have been strong protests registered by various human rights and ethical groups over human safaris. The issue became the topic of fierce debate when it was revealed that tour organizers to the Andaman and Nicobar islands offered money to tribals living in the dense forests to perform their traditional dance for tourists. 

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Special Report: 'Cellular Jail' Or 'Kala Pani' - The Historical Indian Bastille Is Still On The Andaman Islands

The picturesque city of Port Blair in the Andaman islands, attracts many tourists during the months of January to March. However, a trip to the Andaman islands would be incomplete without a visit to Port Blair’s monumental structure, the Cellular Jail or Kala Pani.

As closing time draws n ear, the security personnel inside the Cellular Jail at Port Blair begin to signal visitors to leave the jail before the gates close.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Planes That Can Land Almost Anywhere... Even On Water

Siddharth Verma’s tryst with seaplanes almost ended as soon as it began. In 2010, Verma and his partners, CL Lakshmanan and SS Mann, won a deal to connect Port Blair with different regions of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Their firm — Maritime Energy Heli Air Services Pvt Ltd (MEHAIR) — was able to pip the competition and snag the contract managed by Pawan Hans on behalf of the Islands.

But the Australian aircraft leasing firm that agreed to supply a seaplane to MEHAIR backed out at the eleventh hour, citing the promoters’ lack of experience in running a similar service.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Another Super Cyclone 'Lehar’ Will Hit Andhra On Nov 28

By Ramesh Reddy | Hyderabad

After being hit by cyclones ’Phailin’ and ‘Helen’, Andhra Pradesh is likely to be at the receiving end of another cyclone, ‘Lehar’, by November 28.

’Lehar’ lay centred at 1130 hours today, about 230 km east-southeast of Port Blair over the Andaman Sea and is expected to cross Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Sunday night.

It would then emerge in South Eastern Bay of Bengal and intensify further gradually into a very severe cyclonic storm.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

The Lost Tribe: The 'Sentinelese' Of Indian Ocean Islands

-------------------------------------------
INNLIVE EXCLUSIVE STORY
-------------------------------------------
By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

From the sky it appears to be an idyllic island with amazing beaches and a dense forest, but tourists or fishermen don’t dare to step foot on this outcrop in the Indian Ocean due to its inhabitants’ fearsome reputation.

Visitors who venture onto or too close to North Sentinel Island risk being attacked by members of a mysterious tribe who have rejected modern civilisation and prefer to have zero contact with the outside world.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Colours, Pride, Fervour Marks Indian Republic Day In India

By Likha Veer | INN Live

The 65th Republic Day was celebrated on Sunday across the country amid tight security and hoisting of the National Tricolour in different states.

West Bengal: In Kolkata Governor M K Narayanan presided over the marchpast of armed and police forces. Colourful parade  and procession with decorated tableaux portraying the state’s culture and heritage were highlights of the programme, which was attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Assam: Assam Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik today appealed the underground militant groups to abjure violence and come to the discussion table to solve the issues for an overall development of the state. Hoisting the National Flag on the 65th Republic Day here, Patnaik also condemned the recent incidents of violence in many districts across the state.  Besides, various initiatives were started under the Multi Sectoral Development Plan in areas like agriculture, cottage industry, drinking water and education to uplift the minority communities.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

Marine Parks: Balancing Eco-Tourism With Conservation

By Parth Sandhya | INN Live

India boasts of several national parks which are hotspots of bio-diversity. Not known to many, India also has several marine national parks which protect marine flora and fauna.

Marine national parks and sanctuaries are established to protect marine plants and animals. We list four marine parks of India.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Juvenile crimes: Over 33,000 minors arrested in 2011 for rapes, murders


Over 33,000 juveniles, mostly between the age group of 16 to 18, have been arrested for crimes like rape and murder across the country in 2011, the highest in last decade.

According to a Home Ministry data, of the total of 33,387 juveniles apprehended in 2011, 21,657 were in the 16-18 age group, 11,019 of 12-16 age group and 1,211 between 7-12 age group.

A total of 33,628 adolescents were held in 2001, 35,779 in 2002, 33,320 in 2003, 30,943 in 2004 and 32,681 in 2005 for their involvement in different criminal acts.

Whereas, 32,145 such youngsters below 18 years of age were held in 2006, 34,527 in 2007, 34,507 in 2008, 33,642 in 2009 and 30,303 during 2010, the data said. The data also shows increasing cases of rape by juveniles. As many as 1,419 such cases were recorded in 2011 as compared to 399 cases in 2001, it said.

It is pertinent to mention that a juvenile and five others were arrested by Delhi Police for brutally raping and assaulting a 23-year-old girl in the national capital on 16 December. The victim later succumbed to her injuries.

The cases of murder by juveniles have also shown a surge in last ten years. As many as 531 youngsters below the age of 18 were apprehended for murder in 2001 as against 888 arrests between January and December 2011.

According to the data, 6,770 juveniles were arrested in Maharashtra, 5,794 in Madhya Pradesh, 2,692 in Chhattisgarh, 2,542 in Rajasthan and 2,510 in Gujarat among others in 2011.

In the same year, a total of 2,474 adolescents were arrested in Andhra Pradesh, 2,083 in Tamil Nadu, 1,204 in Uttar Pradesh and 1,126 in Bihar, the data said.

Whereas, 942 juveniles were arrested in Delhi, 159 in Chandigarh, 85 in Puducherry, 22 in Dadar and Nagar Haveli, 16 in Daman and Diu and eight in Andaman and Nicobar in 2011.

Of the total number of juveniles arrested in 2011 under different sections of IPC and Special and Local Laws (SLL), 6,122 were illiterate, 12,803 were primary passouts, 10,519 were above primary and below matriculation qualified and 4,443 were matric and higher secondary qualified, the data said.

A total of 27,577 juveniles, who were held for criminal acts, were living with parents, 4,386 were living with guardians and 1,924 were homeless, the data said giving details of their family background.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

IS INDIA READY FOR 2-FRONT WAR WITH PAK, CHINA?

INN News Desk

India continues to view Pakistan as the “real threat” even though it is adjusting its military strategy to include the possibility of a limited two-front war with both Pakistan and China, the first Blue Book on India published by a Chinese think tank said.

Pakistan is India’s main “real threat” to maintain a high degree of vigilance and preparedness, the summary of the Blue Book released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, (CASS) said.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Why President Obama's Republic Day visit will be a disaster for India?

I must admit I was startled by the news that US President Barack Obama has accepted the invitation to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day 2015. 

This is quite out of character for both Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I had imagined that the two had grit their teeth and held their metaphorical noses and shook hands with each other when the PM went to the US: after all, it’s not every day that a person who had been declared persona non grata for years is welcomed into the US White House.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Incredible India: When public sector advertising turned savvy

By M H Ahssan

If the recent Lok Sabha elections are any proof, then no matter how great an advertising agency is and how lavishly the client spends, there is always a sarkaari look to public sector advertising.

Small wonder when the Incredible India campaign was launched, it came as a welcome change from the fuddy-duddy public sector advertising.

The man at the centre of the campaign is Amitabh Kant, who was a joint secretary in the tourism ministry then. He is also the one to have steered the 'God's Own Country' campaign for Kerala for several years.

In his recent book, Branding India -- An Incredible Story, Kant chronicles the story of Incredible India, one of the most awarded and successful destination campaigns worldwide.

Kant begins with the domestic tourism scenario in the backdrop of the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001. It was a time when tour operators thought there was nothing that could boost consumer demand.

"Global tourism saw a sharp decline... countries like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia had sharply cut their advertising, promotion and marketing budgets," he writes.

Kant points out that till 2002, India had opened 18 tourism offices abroad, yet none of these gave a clear and singular positioning for India. "One foreign office called it 'Spiritual India', another termed it 'Cultural India', and the third termed it 'Unbelievable India'.

The cliched visuals, the saffron clad sadhus and rope tricks performed amidst crowds..." he laments, "did nothing to reflect the changes India was going through."
That's when a vision statement was drawn out to promote India as a "premier holiday destination for high-yielding tourists".Grey Worldwide and Wieden+Kennedy were roped in as key advertising agencies for the campaign.

Perhaps one of the best chapters in the book is the one where Kant draws from his experience in Kerala and describes the wrong flight of the state's tourism in the 90s, which was punctuated by high volume, low value tourism -- "A solitary ITDC hotel, mass tourist arrivals in the form of garbage collectors from Manchester and cobblers from London contributing not more £15 a night."

The tourism ministry then decided to do away with mass tourism and soon products exclusive to Kerala were promoted to the affluent traveller -- the backwaters, ayurveda, kettuvallams (houseboats), the tree house, butterfly holidays, and traditional cuisines became the rallying points.

"How can India's first communist state be called 'God's Own Country'? There was no end to criticism," he writes. The turning point came when after a series of familiarisation tours with tour operators and travel writers, the National Geographic Traveller featured Kerala among 'fifty destinations of a lifetime'.

In subsequent chapters, Kant describes other tourism makeovers -- Ajanta Ellora, Kumbalgarh, Mahabalipuram and Hardwar -- and also throws light on parallel growth stories such as low carrier airlines, enhanced air connectivity, online travel portals and growing macro-economic confidence about India.

Kant admits that branding a destination is a multi-sectoral challenge. "I was dealing with home ministry for visas, state governments for taxi drivers, there were challenges in customs and immigration, tour operators, ASI sites -- all of them have to become your brand ambassadors," the author states. This was the backdrop when a parallel campaign -- 'Atithi Devo Bhava' -- was conceived.

Indeed, the book effectively conveys the importance and greatness of the Incredible India campaign, but it also gives a feeling that the campaign was too dependent on the success of 'God's Own Country'.One may also feel that the book -- designed stylishly by Wieden+Kennedy's V Sunil -- underplays the role of advertising's contribution to the 'Incredible India' campaign.

Lines such as 'An island a day, keeps the doctor away. Vitamin Sea'for Andaman islands; 'Not all Indians are polite, hospitable and vegetarian,' to talk about the Royal Bengal tiger, and 'One day, man will travel at the speed of thought. Pity,' to describe a calm meditative journey through Kerala's backwaters, are indicative of not just the tourism ministry's welcome savviness as a client, but also of a bureaucracy agreeing to promote Brand India in a slick manner.

True, Incredible India is a rare instance of savvy public sector advertising, which dared to poke fun at the country's glorious self.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Telemedicine in Rural India

By M H Ahssan

In a developing country such as India, there is huge inequality in health-care distribution. Although nearly 75% of Indians live in rural villages, more than 75% of Indian doctors are based in cities. Most of the 620 million rural Indians lack access to basic health care facilities. The Indian government spends just 0.9% of the country's annual gross domestic product on health, and little of this spending reaches remote rural areas. The poor infrastructure of rural health centers makes it impossible to retain doctors in villages, who feel that they become professionally isolated and outdated if stationed in remote areas.

In addition, poor Indian villagers spend most of their out-of-pocket health expenses on travel to the specialty hospitals in the city and for staying in the city along with their escorts. A recent study conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Opinion found that 89% of rural Indian patients have to travel about 8 km to access basic medical treatment, and the rest have to travel even farther.

Can Telemedicine Bridge the Divide?
Telemedicine may turn out to be the cheapest, as well as the fastest, way to bridge the rural–urban health divide. Taking into account India's huge strides in the field of information and communication technology, telemedicine could help to bring specialized healthcare to the remotest corners of the country.

The efficacy of telemedicine has already been shown through the network established by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which has connected 22 super-specialty hospitals with 78 rural and remote hospitals across the country through its geo-stationary satellites. This network has enabled thousands of patients in remote places such as Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep Islands, and tribal areas of the central and northeastern regions of India to gain access to consultations with experts in super-specialty medical institutions. ISRO has also provided connectivity for mobile telemedicine units in villages, particularly in the areas of community health and ophthalmology.

This encouraging early success in reaching patients—together with recent technological advances in India, such as the proliferation of fiber optic cables, the expanding bandwidth, and the licensing of private Internet service providers—has encouraged ISRO to set up an exclusive satellite, called HealthSAT, to bring telemedicine to the poor on a larger scale. The proposed satellite would not only serve remote areas of India but also those in other poor countries in Asia and Africa. In the government of India's current budget, INR102.8 billion has been allocated for health. HealthSAT is expected to cost only about 1% of this budget, that is, between INR600 million to INR1 billion. Each receiving terminal (where patients and rural doctors are present for audiovisual conferences) in the villages is expected to cost only about INR0.5 million. This telemedicine service will save some costs, for example the money that patients would have spent on travel and accommodation.

A telemedicine system in a small health centre consists of a personal computer with customized medical software connected to a few medical diagnostic instruments, such as an ECG or X-ray machine or an X-ray scanner for scanning X-ray photos. Through this computer, digitized versions of patients' medical images and diagnostic details (such as X-ray images and blood test reports) are dispatched to specialist doctors through the satellite-based communication link. The information, in turn, is received at the specialist centre where experienced doctors examine the reports, diagnose, interact with the patients (along with local doctors), and suggest appropriate treatment through video-conferencing. The entire system is relatively user-friendly, and only a short period of training is needed for doctors at super-specialty centres and rural health centres to handle the system. And hospital technicians can take care of the operation and maintenance of the equipment.

M. N. Sathyanarayan, Executive Director of Space Industries Development, and organising secretary of the 2005 International Telemedicine Conference, said: “In the pilot phase of the telemedicine project, ISRO is providing telemedicine equipment as well as making available the required bandwidth on INSAT satellites. The main criteria for funding by ISRO are that the hospitals have to be government-run—state or central—or belong to public sector industries. The hospitals have to provide infrastructure as well as doctors and technicians for operating the system.”

“ISRO also provides the equipment and bandwidth to private specialty hospitals and hospitals run by Trusts, if these hospitals provide free service, including specialty consultation to rural hospitals that have been connected in the telemedicine network of ISRO. These hospitals have to provide follow-up treatment to teleconsulted patients at government rates.”

In its telemedicine initiative, ISRO intends to connect different types of Indian health care centers in a series of phases. L. S. Sathyamurthy, Programme Director of Telemedicine at ISRO said: “There are 650 district hospitals, 3,000 taluk [subdistrict] hospitals, and more than 23,000 primary health centers in the country. We must aim to connect all these in phases—first the district hospital connected to speciality hospitals in major cities, then the taluk-level hospitals, and finally the primary health centers, so that nobody, irrespective of his location, is deprived of lifesaving specialty consultation.” When the network grows, it may even include private hospitals as well as hospitals in Asia and Africa. Although the network will initially be used for teleconsultation and postoperative consultation, in the future it may accommodate even telesurgery and telerobotics.

The Impact So Far
Starting with pilot projects in the year 2001, together with a “proof-of-concept” technology demonstration, ISRO has established the facility in nearly 60 remote hospitals, which have been connected with 20 super-specialty city hospitals. A report presented at the Rajya Sabha (the House of States, or Upper House) of the Parliament of India suggested that the initial results of India's telemedicine initiative are encouraging. The report states that several telemedicine projects in India have been successfully interlinked—for example, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands telemedicine project links the G. B. Pant Hospital at Port Blair with Shri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, while in Karnataka, Narayana Hrudayalaya is connected to District Hospital, Chamarajnagar and Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, Saragur.

Adding to these early reports of successful linkage, there are also reports that telemedicine has helped to save lives in crowded pilgrimage centres and military outposts connected with mobile telemedicine units. For example, the Amrita Telemedicine Programme reports that on 13 January 2003, the programme's first remote telesurgery procedure was performed. The Amrita Emergency Care Unit at Pampa was able to save the life of a pilgrim by a telesurgical procedure using the local telemedicine facility. The cardiothoracic surgeon guided the procedure remotely, and the pediatric cardiologist at Pampa performed the procedure. Mobile telemedicine units were also rushed to the coasts and islands of India after the 2004 tsunami to provide medical consultation and relief to the affected people.

There are other indications that the telemedicine initiative may have had a positive impact. ISRO's annual report for 2004–2005 states: “More than 25,000 patients have so far been provided with teleconsultation and treatment. An impact study conducted on a thousand patients has revealed that there is a significant cost saving in the system since the patients avoid expenses towards travel, stay, and for treatment at the hospitals in the cities”. Dr. Devi Shetty, a cardiac surgeon and the Chairman of Narayan Hrudayalya, a hospital that has served thousands through telemedicine, said: “We have treated 17,400 patients using telemedicine connectivity in various parts of India, mainly from rural India, and [a] few patients from outside India. We use both satellite as well as ISDN connectivity. Now, with the Indian Space Research Organisation, which is our associate in this project giving us the satellite connection free of cost, we have a [larger] game plan of offering health care to African and other Asian countries.”

The Challenges and Controversies
The telemedicine initiative in India has not been free of challenges and controversies. “There are inevitable difficulties associated with the introduction of new systems and technologies,” according to Sathyamurthy. “There are some who needlessly fear that they will lose their jobs. Although the systems are user-friendly, there are others who are affected by the fear of the unknown in handling computers and other equipment. There is a feeling that the initial investment is high and hence financially not viable.” In addition, there may be technical hitches, such as low bandwidth and lack of interoperability standards for software.

Discussing HealthSAT, Dr. D. Lavanian, an Indian expert in telemedicine affiliated with the Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India, said: “[HealthSAT] is excellent, but some questions remain. Presently HealthSAT connectivity is expected to be given free of charge to certain government entities. This is unsatisfactory as a large percentage of health care in India is by private entities.” Dr. Lavanian added: “On my requesting to ISRO to open up the same to the private health industry, of course for a fee, I have not received any positive answer. This means that a large percentage of the population of India will be denied healthcare via telemedicine.”

These difficulties can probably be surmounted. In the late 1980s, when computers came to India, similar kinds of problems were seen in different parts of the country. That is, people showed technophobia and expressed their fears that computers would cause unemployment and would also be prohibitively expensive. But the country overcame these challenges and fears, and eventually became a superpower in the field of knowledge and information technology.

With the aid of HealthSAT, India's telemedicine initiative has the potential to provide specialized health care to millions of poor Indians. This potential was well summed up by Dr. Devi Shetty: “In terms of disease management, there is [a] 99% possibility that the person who is unwell does not require [an] operation. If you don't operate you don't need to touch the patient. And if you don't need to touch the patient, you don't need to be there. You can be anywhere, since the decision on healthcare management is based on history and interpretation of images and chemistry … so technically speaking, 99% of health-care problems can be managed by the doctors staying at a remote place—linked by telemedicine.”

Monday, May 20, 2013

'MAJOR RISK INVOLVED IN HANDLING THE PRISON'

By Kajol Singh / New Delhi

For Vimla Mehra, running one of the world’s largest prison complexes is like managing a big household.

“Women can do it better, because it’s just an application of natural work that we do at home,” Ms. Mehra told INN on a recent afternoon interview.

The 57-year-old divorced mother is the second female director general of Delhi’s Tihar Prison, which has 12,000 inmates — 540 of them women — kept in 10 jails.