VOL: 03 I ISSUE NO: 106 I REG NO: ANDENG/2011/38184 I 12 MAY 2014 I MONDAY I Rs. 2.00 I DAILY I PORT BLAIR I www.andamansheekha.com

Endless sufferingsfor private Bus

passengers in Andamans

Port Blair, May 11: This hasbecome a common practice foralmost all private bus driversto illegally stop buses inmajor junctions in city, formore than 15 to 20 minutes tolook for more and morepassengers.

A trip fromGaracharma to Chathamusually takes 30 to 40 minutesin a car but for private buses ittakes more than an hour,which often leaves passengersin trouble.Passengers complaint that thebuses usually stops in majorjunctions like Bhatu Basti,Dairy Farm, Goal Ghar formore than 15 to 20 minutes,until and unless all seats areoccupied. “In between if theysee another bus of same routeis approaching from behind

Mohammed SajidSheekha News Service

they immediately start the busand drive too fast. This is thereason why most of the busaccidents take place in city,”complained a passenger.Sadly the drivers of Privatebuses neither fear the StateTransport Service nor thePolice Department.

“If we protest, theyusually threaten us andmisbehave with us. Thereshould be a helpline, where

such troubled bus passengerscan register a complaint ifbuses are stopped illegally inany place for long duration,”said the passenger.

However, theSecretary of Transport hasrefused to reply to anyquestion of AndamanSheekha, giving excuse ofModel Code of Conduct. Hopethe Traffic Police unit willatleast look into this matter.

Deer in Ross Islandface shortage of food

Port Blair, May 11: It isbelieved that due to increasein population, Deer of RossIsland are facing seriousshortage of food. The tinyIsland doesn’t have muchgrazing land for the Deer,making things moredifficult for them, duringsummer season.Photographs available with

Staff CorrespondentSheekha News Service

Andaman Sheekha showthat due to shortage of foodDeer even enters inside thecampus of sailors’accommodation at Ross andeat food stuffs and drinkwater from drain.

Recently the daredevil act of two Deer toescape from Ross Islandalso indicates severeshortage of grazing land andwater at Ross Island. When

(See page 2)

2 12.05.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

Children’s Summer Sailing Camp at ANC ConcludesPort Blair, May 11: TheChildren’s Summer SailingCamp conducted from 01May 14,under the aegis ofAndaman and Nicobar Com-mand, at Indian NavalWatermanship Training Cen-tre (INWTC), Port Blair con-cluded on 10 May 14. Thecamp was aimed at inculcat-ing a spirit of adventureamong children of variousage groups, and to promotewater adventure activities inthese emerald isles.

The entire event wascoordinated by INS Jarawa,and was attended by 37 chil-dren, including 10 childrenfrom our civil fraternity. CaptKaranjit Sharma, Command-ing Officer, INS Jarawaflagged off the event on 01May 14.During the Camp,children were imparted in-structions, practical demon-stration and hand-on experi-ence on various sailing boats.The children werefamiliarised with the variousparts of sail boats,knots, sail-ing terms, boatmanoeuvring,rigging/unrigging, launching

andrecovery, improvisation ofsailing gears, racing and rac-ing signals, emergency sig-nals, means of communicationand towing of sail boat. Apartfrom this advanced conceptsof sailing in different waterconditions, man overboarddrill and capsize recoverywere also taught. The chil-dren were given instructionson Enterprise Cass Boats,Laser andOptimist. Apartfrom this children were alsoimparted basic training onHobbiecat, Kayak andGemini. During the conduct ofevent safety aspects weregiven utmost importance.

The event was con-ducted under experiencedand professional instructors ofthe Indian Navy, Shri SarojKanga Thakur, an ex-IndianNavy Sailor and Ms Tanaz KNoble, a professionalKayaking Instructor. TheClosing Ceremony was con-ducted on 10 May 14, inwhich Rear Admiral SudhirPillai, NM, Chief of Staff,Andaman and Nicobar Com-mand was the Chief Guest.Mrs Rama Pillai gave awaythe prizes to the winners invarious events. All partici-pants were given certificatesfor successful completion of

the camp.Speaking on the oc-casion, the COS applaudedthe efforts of the Naval Com-ponent, INS Jarawa andINWTC(PBR) for conduct-ing event of such a magni-tude. He also commended theefforts and enthusiasmshown by the participatingchildren, and urged them tostrive harder so that our is-lands produce world classsailors in various categories.He appreciatedINWTC(PBR) staff for be-ing in the fore front inorganising sailing activitiesand promoting watermanshipactivities in the Command. He

also appreciated INSJarawa’s overall logistic plan-ning, the coordination amongall Components and the me-ticulous and safe execution ofthe camp, which was a clas-sical example ofJointmanship. In past also,INWTC(PBR) has success-fully conducted var iousevents like Jal Kreeda Diwas,Power Boat Handling, ParaSailing, J-24, Enterprise ClassSailing Championships and ispresently gearing up for theforthcoming Asian Champi-onship selections being con-ducted by Naval Headquar-ters

MOVING EYES.....

Obstructive Parking, is the latest trend in city. Pic: Andaman Sheekha

Andaman Sheekha contacteda senior Forest officer, he saidthat he can’t comment on this

issue as the Ross Island isunder Andaman and NicobarCommand.

Deer in... (From page 1)

12.05.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair 3

Port Blair, May 11: First roundof training to Counting Super-visors and Counting Assis-tants, engaged to assist theReturning Officer, A & N Is-lands Parliamentary Constitu-ency in counting of votes forGE-2014, was held on 09-05-

First round of training to CountingSupervisors, Counting Assistants imparted

2014 at the Conference Hallof the District Office, SouthAndaman.

The Counting Super-visors and Assistants werebriefed about the arrange-ments at the Counting Cen-tre, various legal provisions/

instructions of the ElectionCommission of India and theCounting process to be fol-lowed.

A demo of the count-ing of votes and a presenta-tion on the subject was also

Port Blair, May 11:Doordarshan Port Blair, willbroadcast live phone-inprogramme titled ‘ApkeySawal’ on Every Monday,Wednesday and Friday from5.00 PM to 5.30 PM.

On Monday(12.05.2014) Mr. V. Selvamof Department of Sports will

Phone-in programme onSports Summer Coaching Camp

be available live at DDK,Port Blair Studio, to answerall questions of Islanders onthe topic ‘Sports SummerCoaching Camp’.

Viewers can call atPhone Number 03192 –230798 to ask questions on theabove mentioned topics ongiven dates.

N. Francis Xavier

Viper Prison Break

Part XXXIII, (Continuedfrom last week)

Well before daybreak Hemrajroused the men. The whalerquietly slid into the channel,heading eastwards. Even ifSantiago was watching themhe would think they wereheaded for Burma. As soon asthey exited from the channelHemraj turned the boat into asecret cove. At the other end

of the cove was a tidal creek.Hemraj guided the boat intothe creek. After half an hourthey re-entered the channel,well beyond the spot wherethey had left Santiago. Nowthey were headed west-wards. The sails werehoisted and the boat pickedup speed. In a few hours theywould exit from the channel,onto the western coast of theIslands. Beyond that lay thevast ocean, and freedom.

The boat was caughtin a powerful riptide as itneared the western end ofthe channel. It threatened tocarry the boat towards acraggy island, the last outpostof the Andamans. Hugebreakers broke against thecoral beds that formed a for-midable wall all round the Is-land. The monsoon was at its

peak.Hemraj struggled

with the tiller to keep the boataway from the rocks. A nar-row inlet was the only safepassage to a patch of whitesand. The oars were broughtout and the men pulled withall their might to fight againstthe grip of the riptide. By thetime the tide relaxed its gripthe whaler was close to theshore. They must wait therefor the tide to turn. The menprepared to bring the boat toshore.

Just as the bowstouched the sandy beach anear naked human form wasseen rushing towards them.

It was clear it wasnot an aboriginal from thecolour of the skin. It carriedno weapons. Who could it be?The man stopped well short

of the party, panting. Suddenlyhe recognized Hemraj.

“Hemraj, my brother!I thought you got away long

ago. Are you still here?The men could now

see it was Harpal, a sepoy

Ban on Vehicles fromCarrying Protruding Rods

Port Blair on May 11: Vide theGazette of India Extraordinary,Part II - Section 3 - Sub Sec-tion (i) No. 108, New Delhi,Wednesday, March 5, 2014, thegovernment has banned ve-hicles from carrying Rods,Pipes or any protruding mate-rials beyond the body frame.The Road Transport Ministryhas deleted the provision in theCentral Motor Vehicle Rules(CMVR) that allowed protru-

sions up to one metre and de-leted Section 93 of CMVR1989, which allowed goods ve-hicles to carry poles or rods orindivisible load “So long as theprojecting part or parts do notexceed the distance of onemetre beyond the rear mostpoint of the motor vehicle”.

The truckers andconsigners are advised to ad-here to the above notificationand refrain from any violation.

Forest Department to exploreopening of new Eco-Tourism Sites

Port Blair, May 11: The LtGovernor, reviewed the actiontaken on the instructions is-sued from time to time,achievements of the year2013-14 and the initiatives pro-posed for the year 2014-15 bythe Department of Environ-ment & Forests at Raj Niwasrecently in the presence ofChief Secretary and other se-nior officers of the Adminis-tration. A detailed presentationwas made by the Principal

Chief Conservator of For-ests. The Lt Governor im-pressed upon the officers ofthe Department to put inplace a transfer policy for thefield level staff and workersfor their deployment in re-mote localities on the lines ofPolice Department, and pro-vide a more responsive, ef-fective and transparent ad-ministration for the welfareof the residents of Andaman& Nicobar Islands. Express-

ing his concern on the upkeepand maintenance of the infra-structure created at variouseco-tourism sites, he askedthe Department to ensure thatthe facilities so created areproperly maintained and en-sure cleanliness at the sites byimposing fines for littering.The Department should con-sider charging a nominal feefor the use of such facilitiesat the beach. He also empha-

(See page 6)

(See page 4)

(See page 4)

4 12.05.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

given. It was informed that the nextround of training to the officers shallbe held at the same venue on 13-05-2014. Later on, the Returning Of-ficer, Shri P. Jawahar, IAS, also helda meeting with the officers of vari-ous departments at the ConferenceHall of the District Office, SouthAndaman to review the arrange-

ments at Counting Centre at Govern-ment Girls Senior Secondary School,Port Blair.

This was followed by visit tothe Counting Centre alongwith con-cerned officers where various direc-tions on setting up of IT related in-frastructure, media centre etc weregiven by the Returning Officer.

First round of training..... (From page 3)

Forest Department.... (From page 3)

sized the need for exploring the fea-sibility of opening new eco-tourismdestinations, considering the fact thata large number of tourists visit theseIslands with the limited number ofsuch sites available in and around PortBlair. With regard to the much fre-quented tourist destination of Have-lock, the Lt Governor asked the ChiefSecretary to look into the issue of dis-posal of solid waste and prepare acomprehensive scheme for solidwaste management, involving theRevenue, Forest, Police, Tourism De-partments as well as the PRIs. He

also desired that the Forest depart-ment shall provide the required tech-nical knowhow and support to thePublic Works Department in raisingof avenue plantations of floweringand shade bearing, fast growing treeson either side of the road leading fromthe jetty up to the market and alsofrom the market to RadhanagarBeach during the ensuing monsoonseason.Making available timber forlocal consumption should also bestreamlined. As far as the crocodilemenace is concerned a comprehen-sive programme should be drawn upincluding a census carried out.

Death MournedPort Blair, May 11: Mr. Bishnu PadaRay, Member of Parliament, A &N Islands has condoled the untimely

death of Smti Kesar Devi, age 75,w/o Shri Late Ram Chander Reddy,R/o South Point.

Rita Bokil to conduct Workshop inHindustani Classical Music

Port Blair, May 05: The Departmentof Art & Culture will be conductingWorkshop in Hindustani ClassicalMusic under the guidance of Smti.Rita Bokil from 13th -24th May 2014in Andaman Club , Port Blair. Twoclasses will be held, one each for theage group 10 -17 years and 17 years

and above. Timing for 10-17 yearsshall be from 10 a.m to 11.30 amwhereas timing for the age group 17years and above shall be from 11.30to 1p.m.

Those interested to take partin the workshop can register theirnames over phone no. 230117.

12.05.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair 5

6 12.05.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

Viper Prison.....convict. How did he land uphere?

“Hello Harpal,what’re you doing here?”,Hemraj asked.

“Brother, first giveme some water, and some-thing to eat. I’m starving,”Harpal said.

It was then the mennoticed a crude raft washedup on the far end of thebeach. Harpal somehow man-aged to escape from thesettlement, built a raft to crossthe sea but got wrecked onthe island.

Sheobrat offered theman a tender coconut. Theconvict camaraderie cameinto play. He too was a fugi-tive like them, and a formersepoy too.

“Well, Harpal, whathappened?”, Hemraj asked,after the man calmed down.They all sat down in the shadeof a tree on the cool sand.

“Brother, you areaware of the attempt to mur-der Chunga by Kulloo. Thatwas September last year,when Gen Barwell was theSuperintendent. Kulloo gotaway with it, thanks to the

botched up investigation bySirdarBaghail Singh. Youknow him. He took a bigbribe.

“After Chunga re-covered from the wounds hewanted to take revenge. Bythat time Gen Barwell gottransferred. Chunga repre-sented the matter to Col.Cadell. He was afraid Kulloomay make another attempt onhis life. He also complainedagainst SirdarBaghail Singh.Col. Cadell rejected his peti-tion.

A few days beforeyour escape Chunga learntthat Kulloo was planning anattack. He was seen sharp-ening a dah. Chunga came tome for help. The only waywas to get rid of Kulloo. Welaid a trap for him. He was inthe habit of going to the jungleto cut firewood. We lay inwait and pounced upon him.He put up a fight as he wasarmed with an axe. Chungawas injured badly, but wemanaged to kill Kulloo.Chunga promised not to re-veal my name as an accom-plice. “The case was handedover to Ropes saab. You know

what kind of person he is. Hegot Chunga sentenced death,but tortured him so much be-fore hanging him to find out ifthere was an accomplice.According to Col. Cadell’snew rules condemned mencould be flogged publicly be-fore being hanged. PoorChunga revealed my name toRopes saab.

Hemraj understoodthat Harpal was referringtoFrederick Adolph deRoepstorff, the Dane.Roepstorff, wasthe only rem-nant of the Danish occupationof the Nicobars before theywere taken over by the Brit-ish.

Roepstorffchose tostay on and join the British,hoping for a good job, consid-ering his vast experience inthe Nicobars. He could speakthe Nicobari language flu-ently, and was writing a book– Vocabulary of DialectsSpoken in the Nicobar andAndaman Islands. He con-vinced the Administration thathe would be a better negotia-tor with the Nicobaris. Withhis strong persuasive skillsRoepstorff quickly found a

job among the hierarchy ofPrison officials.

The British Officersin the settlement, however,did not like the pushyDane.His unpronounceable name,appearance, accent andbehaviour did not agree withthe Brits. When Roepstorffwent on furlough toCopenhagenin 1879, presum-ably to make copies of someDanish manuscripts relatingto the settlements in theNicobar Islands, there was asigh of relief in Port Blair.

However, whenRoepstorff returned in threemonths and demanded pay forthe period, over and above the100 pounds he took as ad-vance, he was snubbed forbeing too greedy. It was be-lieved that he was digging upthe kitchen middens of theAndamanese to look for ar-row heads and other tribalartifacts to sell them to somemuseums in Europe.

The convicts too didnot like him. He was rude andcruel, always threatening theconvicts with capital punish-ment. It was believed that aplot was already beinghatched to do away withhim.“I got the news of

Chunga’s confession and im-mediately ran away to thejungle”, Harpal continued.“Ropes saab immediately setthe police on my trial. I man-aged to build this raft but itwas smashed to pieces on therocks four days ago. All mysupplies were lost. I haven’teaten anything for four days.There are no coconut treeseven on this island. I wasthinking I’ll starve to deathwhen I saw you come in, likea Godsend. I hope you’ll letme join your group. I can pullan oar like any good boat-man.

Silence descendedon the group at Harpal’s re-quest. An extra passengermeans less rations and lessspace on the boat. The boatwas already crowded. But,it’s also an extra hand towork the sails and the oars.

Harpal waited withbated breath for Hemraj’sreply.

After a long pauseHemraj spoke.

“Well Harpal, wecan’t leave you here, couldwe? Lend a hand to haul upthe boat. We sail with firstlight tomorrow. (To becontinued….)

My Family Identity card issued in the name of FETHERXALXO, S/o Alponse Xalxo R/o Kalighat lost at KalighatBazar. Finder please call 9932493418.

LOST

(From page 3)

12.05.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair 7

CINCAN attends closing ceremonyof 23rd Cycle of India-Indonesia CORPAT

Port Blair, May 11: The Clos-ing Ceremony of the23rdCycle of the India – In-donesia Coordinated Patrol(CORPAT) was attended byAir Marshal PK Roy, PVSM,AVSM, VM, VSM, ADCCommander - in-– Chief ,Andaman& Nicobar Com-mand in Indonesia from 30Apr to 02 May 14. The23 rdCycle of theCORPATwas conductedfrom16 Apr to 03 May 14. TheOpening Ceremony of thiscycle of CORPAT was heldat Port Blair from 14 to 16Apr 14, whilst the ClosingCeremony was at Belawan,Indonesia from 30 Apr to 02May. One PattimuraClass ofship, KRI Imam Bonjol, andan indigenously built MaritimePatrol Aircraft CN 235 par-ticipated from the IndonesianNavy,while the Indian Navywas represented by INSKumbhir and a Dornier fromINAS 318 Squadron.

The highlight of thiscycle of CORPAT was thatthe Commander-in-Chief ofrespective Commands fromthe Indonesian and IndianNavy were the Senior Offic-ers for the Opening and Clos-ing Ceremonies. ShriGurjitSingh, theHon’bleAmbassador of India

to Indonesia, was also in at-tendance for few of theevents during the ClosingCeremony at Belawan, Indo-nesia.

The ships and aircraftof both the navies carried outpatrolling and surveillancealong the International Mari-time Boundary Line from 16to 28 Apr and exchanged in-formation on density of mer-chant traffic and fishing in theareaduring the Sea Phase ofthe CORPAT. In addition, theships carried out various ex-ercises at sea to increaseinteroperability, which in-cluded manoeuvres, stationkeeping by distance line,boarding operations and flaghoist drills.

INS Kumbhir, withCommodore Jatinder Singh,

the Naval Component Com-mander embarked, enteredBelawan Harbour on 30 Apr14, while the CINCAN ar-rived by a Dornier aircraft atMedan Airport the same day.The CINCAN and entouragewas accorded a warm wel-come on arrival by the Indo-nesian Navy. The variousevents held at Belawanfor

the visitorsincluded receptionby Consel General of India,Medan, a visit to Lake Toba,the largest volcanic lake inthe world, discussions on pa-trol and exercises under-taken, formal Closing Cer-emony, reception by Ambas-sador to India for Senior of-ficers of Indian and Indone-sian Navy and reception

onboard INS Kumbhir.TheSenior Officers from boththe naviesexpressedsatisfaction on theprofessional interaction andsuccessful conduct of theCORPAT, and agreed mu-tually on the necessity toraise the level of exercisesfor the forthcoming cyclesof the CORPAT.

Port Blair, May 11: In a sur-prise checking carried out bya joint team comprising ofTraffic Police and Civil Sup-plies Department led byD y . S P ( T r a f f i c )M.A.Naushad and Asst. Dir.(Weights & Measures) ShriRajesh Kumar at Mohanpuraand Bhatu Basti areas on Fri-day (9th May), 39 Auto Rick-shaws were found defaultersin getting their fare metersstamped. As such their fare

meters have been seized.Besides, during the

current year the Traffic Po-lice have challaned 282 autorickshaws for plying withoutoperating fare meters, whichis a violation of A&N MotorVehicle Rules.The joint teamshall continue to conduct sur-prise checks. The auto rick-shaws which are found to berepeated offenders shall be li-able for cancellation of theirroute permit.

282 auto rickshaws driverschallaned for plying without

operating fare meters

Rataneswar Halder s/o T.Manindra Halder r/o A/Bay, Keralapuram lostmy family identity cardbearing no.2007036707.

LOST

8 12.05.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

Address: Roy Villa, INS Utkrosh Road, New Pahargaon, Garacharma Post Office- 744105, South Andaman. Ph: 09932082892. andaman.shikha@gmail.com, editor@andamansheekha.com

City Office: Andaman Sheekha, D & K City Building, Ground Floor, RGT Road, Port Blair. A & N Islands.

Edited, Published, Printed and Owned by Shri Sanjib Kumar Roy and Published from Roy Villa, INS Utkrosh Road, New Pahargaon,Garacharma Post Office- 744105,South Andaman, A & N Islands. Printed at Royal Printers, Bargat Line, South Andaman. Editor: Shri Sanjib Kumar Roy.

DATE - 11-05-2014

ANDAMAN SHEEKHA WEATHER

NRI lawyer-activist readies for all-Indiatour in a bid to eradicate casteism

Port Blair, May 11: An ex-patriate senior Indian lawyerwedded to social activism isundertaking a pioneering all-India expedition next month tospread his message againstcasteism and root out thedeep old malady from thecountry.

Dubai-based K KSarachandra Bose, who hasserved a mandatory notice onthe Government of India toeradicate the caste system bythis calendar year, is bracingfor a 34-day Bharat Yathrastarting June 9 fromThiruvananthapuram, thecapital of his native Keralastate. Along with a team of30-odd volunteers, the 62-year-old entrepreneur willaddress people across thestates before reaching Delhion July 12, travelling a dis-tance of almost 14,000 km.

“My Port Blair ad-dress today is a prelude to mycross-country journey. I re-quest your support to mynoble endeavour,” he told ina public speech at the KeralaSamajam Hall here yester-day.

The function sawfree distribution of a book,Caste Away!  India,  Hindu-ism & Untouchability,authored by Mr Bose, whohas been practising law in theGulf for three-and-a-half de-cades and is a member of theInternational Bar Association.

“This is not just apublication,” he announcedabout the 208-page workbrought out in November2013. “It is in fact a 13-monthmandatory notice I haveserved on the Government ofIndia for Constitutional Re-form to eradicatethe caste system  from  thecountry — by or before 31December 2014.”

The June-July tourwill see Mr Bose giving awaycopies of the book. “I will becarrying over 10,000 copies ofit — for free distribution. I’m

happy that some philanthro-pists and well-wishers haveoffered to print several thou-sand books — also for dis-bursal without charging any-thing.”

It is another matterthat anyone can access theelectronic printable version.Caste Away, which is sup-ported by 40 years of re-search, has already beenhanded out to the Presidentof India, the Prime Minister,all Members of Parliament,besides chief ministers, legis-lators, judges of the SupremeCourt as well as several HighCourts and lower echelons ofthe judiciary. It has also goneto the United Nations Secre-tary-General, Heads of Statesof different countries, intellec-tuals and the media amongothers.As for its content, Mr Bosesaid Caste Away attempts atreform through the Bhaktisaints besides RajaRammohun Roy’s BrahmoSamaj, the tumultuous effortsof late Mahatma Gandhi andB R Ambedkar, among oth-ers.

“The Supreme Courtof India has ruled that thecaste system conveyed themessage ‘Divided we are —come and rule us’ and that‘the caste system  as  pro-jected by Manu and acceptedby the Hindu society hasproved to be the biggest cursefor this country’,” he recalled.“In short, ‘the caste system isa curse on the nation and thesooner it is destroyed the bet-ter ’, the apex court hasnoted.”

Also, the usage of theterm ‘caste’ goes against the1948 UN Universal Declara-tion of Human Rights, headded.

Mr Bose, who wouldalso be travelling to theLakshadweep ahead of hisBharat Yathra that wouldcover all state capitals andhold meetings in another 35-

odd cities and towns, clarifiedthat the expenses of the roadtrip are completely self-spon-sored. “I have no backingfrom any organisation or po-litical party whatsoever. I de-pend solely on my own con-viction, oratory skills and —more importantly — thebook,” he said.

In fact, the BharatYathra had its prelude of sortsat the Kerala-level twomonths ago. “I had carried outa ‘Jathi NirmarjanaBodhavatkarana SadeshaYathra’ across the length ofthe state for six days fromMarch 9. It was highly en-couraging,” Mr Bose re-called. “I led a 31-memberteam which made severalstops (pre-announced and im-promptu) at several stopswhere people gathered ingood numbers and listened tomy speech and derived inspi-ration from its core mes-sage.”

Mr Bose, who hailsfrom a village in centralTravancore and is a partnerof a leading legal consultancyfirm in Dubai, is a member ofthe Kerala High Court Advo-cates Association andKarnataka Bar Council. Heis also associated with theLegal Affairs Department ofthe Government of Dubai, isa visiting professor in Inter-national Business Law and alegal columnist in several pub-lications. He chairs GlobalDialogue Foundation and the“Unity in Diversity” under theauspices of the United Na-tions Alliance of Civilizations.

“Eradication ofcaste may sound a bit over-ambitious for my compatriotsat large, but then my missionshave always been driven byabsolute faith in realizing thegoal and a great sense of op-timism,” he said.

“I request you tostrengthen my campaign andrealize its overarching andnoble aim.”

Theatre Workshop by ANAPort Blair, May 11: AdityaNatya Academy (an eminenttheatre group in Islands) willbe organizing a month longproduction based theatre (inBengali) workshop in its pre-mises, 31 M.G.Road (Topfloor), Port Blair for aware-ness in theatre activities forthe age group 06 to 15 years

which will be started from14.05.2014 (Wednesday).Apart from the above, anothertwo workshops viz RabindraSangeet and recitation will beincluded for 10 days each inseparate duration. Interestedpersons may contact overphone Nos. 9474213247/9476076176/ 9531814600.

Almost 750 milliondenied safer drinking water

London - Nearly 750 millionpeople, mostly poor and livingin rural areas, still do not haveaccess to safer drinking wa-ter, despite huge improve-ments over the past two de-cades, the United Nations said.

More than 2 billionpeople gained access to im-proved water supplies be-tween 1990 and 2012, whilealmost 2 billion gained accessto improved sanitation overthe same period, according toa report by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) and theUN children's agencyUnicef.However, 748 millionpeople - about half of them insub-Saharan Africa and half inAsia - still do not have accessto an improved drinking watersource. More than one third ofthe global population, some 2.5billion people, still do not haveaccess to a basic toilet and 1billion people still practice"open defecation", the reportsaid.

Access to betterdrinking water and sanitationare seen as crucial in the fightagainst killer diseases such ascholera, diarrhea, dysenteryand typhoid.

WHO and Unicef saidsharp inequalities in access toimproved drinking water andsanitation persist around theworld.

"Progress on ruralsanitation - where it has oc-curred - has primarily benefitedricher people, increasing in-equalities," Maria Neira, WHO'sdirector for public health, said

in a statement.The report said 56

countries had met an interna-tionally agreed goal - a Millen-nium Development Goal(MDG) - to halve by 2015 theproportion of the populationwithout access to safe drink-ing water and basicsanitation.Seventy-seven coun-tries have met the MDG sani-tation target and 116 countrieshave met the MDG drinkingwater target.Most of the 45countries expected to miss theMDG target for safe drinkingwater are in sub-Saharan Af-rica, which also has the lowestlevels of improved sanitationwith South Asia.

If current trends con-tinue, there will still be 2.4 bil-lion people without access toan improved sanitation facilityin 2015, falling short of theMDG sanitation target by overhalf a billion people, the reportsaid.The United Nations has al-ready started drafting its post-2015 development agenda forwater and sanitation."The ques-tion now is, what will the newtargets be? There is a growingconsensus that [they] shouldfocus on universal access [tosafe water and sanitation] as apart of the push to end extremepoverty by 2030," WaterAid'sdeputy head of policy, TomSlaymaker, told ThomsonReuters Foundation.

"The only way inwhich we are going to get thereis by having a very seriouscommitment and focus on re-ducing inequalities."