VOL: 03 I ISSUE NO: 66 I REG NO: ANDENG/2011/38184 I 24 MARCH 2014 I MONDAY I Rs. 2.00 I DAILY I PORT BLAIR I www.andamansheekha.com

Series of earthquakesin Nicobar Islands keep

A & N Islands worriedPort Blair, Mar 23: Nearly 22earthquakes of more than 4magnitude in Richter Scale,around Nicobar Islands thattoo in last three days, have leftpeople of Andaman andNicobar Islands worried.

Though hardly twoquakes were considerably

strong enough to be felt bypublic but the newsregarding series of othermoderate earthquakes isspreading in Island like wildfire.

Only on March 21nearly 19 earthquakes were

Fire reported from Birdline

Port Blair, Mar 23: Fire ServiceJawans yesterday averted amajor fire at Birdline area.According to a report a firewas reported from a FurnitureShop of Birdline at 0126 hrsyesterday.

The shop was havingproperty worth 15 lakh. Assoon as the Fire ServiceControl Room received FireCall, a Fire Tender, with fiveFire Service jawans, under

command of ASI, I Bux fromGaracharma Fire Station wasrushed to the spot. The firewas soon brought under totalcontrol because of the promptaction of Fire Service Jawans.

(See page 8)

Staff CorrespondentSheekha News Service

Manning agency makes merry with commissionOutsourcing of Services in DSS causes

loss of several crores to Administration

Port Blair, Mar 23: Outsourcing of services in anyMinistry or Department inIndia is done as per GFR2005 rules, which clearlystates in rule no 178, thatoutsourcing of services tobe done in the interest ofeconomy and efficiency.But sadly in Andaman’sShipping D epart mentout sour cing is nei t her

Staff CorrespondentSheekha News Service

economically beneficialnor yielding efficiency.

The Lt. Governor ofA nd aman and NicobarIslands, with his sincereefforts has saved crores ofpubl ic money wit houtdisturbing normal life inAndaman, a recent exampleof c ur t ai lment in theexpenditure during Islandtourism fest ival, wherenearly 3 crores have beensaved, shows the maturity

and dedication of our LGtowards the nation andcare for the public money.

But some kind off ishy d ea ls in somedepartments is causingexcessive wastage of taxpayers’ money. Sadly someprivate groups are earningcrores of easy money andofficials of the concerneddepartments are allegedlyhelping them directly or

(See page 2)

2 24.03.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

WAITING ROOM WOESAT CLINIC/HOSPTIAL

(Etiquette & Protocol)

Dr.Dinesh, Dental SurgeonSitting in a waiting room is anexperience in itself. You ar-rive on time for your appoint-ment, that doesn’t mean youcan get in at the dot into thedoctors chamber, pleasereach at least 15 minutes priorto the appointment time asthere is no excuse for trafficjam at Port Blair though thiskind of lame excuse is givenat mainland and you may haveto wait for about 15 minutesto half an hour or more de-pending upon the rush, some-

times patient takes token androam around in bazaar andcome back, though the recep-tionist might have called thetoken number at the top of hervoice and all the patients sit-ting there search for that pa-tient but all in vain and finallythat patient comes cool aftera stroll at the nearby tea shop,and argue with receptionist,please don’t do that but yourheart sinks when you see thecrowd or there is only a pa-tient but the procedure is timetaking. With a resigned atti-tude you glance around andtry to pass time. You are fum-ing because at this rate youdon’t know when your turnwill come, which makes youall the more anxious. Hereare some suggestions thatwould help avoid stresscaused by waiting. For the people waiting,this is a public area and as

such, all the normal expecta-tions of behavior in companyare expected, starting withkeeping your voice down,your mobile phoneringing(though it may have amelodious tune) at high vol-ume etc so put them in vi-brator mode. If the seating is limited,please ask the healthy folksaccompanying to give up theseat to a fellow patient. Please control your chil-dren from running around andchasing each other or pickingup things from doctor’s clinicand placing it somewhereelse. Nerves are alreadystretched thin! When you have finishedreading the magazines putthem back from where theycame. The next person willreally appreciate it. Themagazines are here for every-

Catching Andaman Cobra

Fire Service jawans catch an Andaman Cobra from OldPahagaon from the residence of Mr. Bharat Singh on22.03.2014.

indirectly.In Directorate of

Shipping Ser vic es thedecision for outsourcingofficer’s service was takendue to the non availabilityof local officers. As a resultof which administrationhad paid huge amount ofmoney to manning agent.A cc ord ing t o a r oughestimate as compared tomarket price, the DSS haspaid several crores (nearlyRs. 15 crores) in excess topay to the officers.

A cc ord ing t o ar ough est imate anddocuments available hereatleast 80 percent of localofficers are easily availablein Andaman and if the DSSwould have appointedthem d ir ec t ly then t heAdministration could haveeas i ly saved cr ores o fRupees.

Now the presentcontract with the manningagent is completing on31.03.2014. This manningagent i s supplying themanpower from last threef inanc ial years but noconcrete step was taken byDSS to end the contractbefore 31st of March 2014.

Now DSS hadext end ed the presentcontract with the samemanning agent for 3 moremont hs , whic h c learly

shows the irresponsibilityof the directorate towardst he nat ion in t erms ofsaving public money.

A t present theengagement of officers hadbeen left as prerogative ofthe Private Company, ABSMarine Service Pvt Ltd.)which operates most of theforeshore and inter Islandvessels in the Islands. Thisarr angement is notbenefi t t ing t he loc a llyavailable officers.

Henc e to sec ur eopportunity of employmenta change in clause in theengagement of NWKO-NCV grade officers needst o be done and anadditional directives needto be incorporated to followa r oas ter syst em forengaging maximumprefer enc e o f e l ig ibleofficers from among thec and id ates who haveundergone courses in localgovernment Inst itution(DBRAIT), Port Blair andwho have obt ained onboard training locally onbehalf of Andaman andNicobar Administration.This would be only way tosec ure oppor tunit y o femployment for locallyavai lable e l ig iblec and id ates or e lse themainland basedcandidates will take over

local opportunities thusisland candidates to starve.The DSS usually says thatit is not in a position toframe and maintain officerroster NWKO(NCV). If theprobable reason is the lackof funds then one mustthink that if the directoratecan release huge amountof money to some privatemanning agency for outsourcing of officers, whycan’t the directorate form aroster and manage the sameamount in a mor eappr opr ia t e manner .Fur t her t hese privat emanning agencies pays avery little to the officers andretains a major amount astheir commission.

For example t heAdministration is payingRs. 1,75,000 for engagingNWK O wit h GMDSSendorsements (1st yearengagement ) but thecompany pays only Rs.80, 000 to the of f ic ers .Please refer Annexure –I formor e d eta ils aboutmanning commission.

(From page 3)M/sABS Marine Services gotprofit of minimum amountRs. 4,63,000 per month pervessel and on takingaccount of all 17 numbersof vessels Rs. 78,71,000 permont h and gr ant t o ta lminimum amount of Rs.

9 ,44 ,52 ,000 per annumexc lud ing manningc ommission. Thecalculation appears verycomplex but one thing isc rys ta l c lear t hat themanning agency is gettinggood commission on everyperson and it is just payingvery less salary to officers.

Good share of themoney which is releasedfor employees is actuallygobbled up by the manningagent.

Not only t hisA nd aman Sheekha hasevidence to prove that themanning agents have alsoenrolled, employed andpaid money to unqualified

officers in Andaman runvessels and hence riskedlife of all passengers. Newsregarding this particularc ase wi ll be publ ishedsoon.

Hence theAdministration must take apolicy decision to employlocal officers via DSS andif after that any vacancyr emains t he manningagents must be requested tosupply officers. In that waythe Administration will beable to save crores of hardearned tax-payers’ money.

(From page 1)Manning agency... (See page 7)

24.03.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair 3

Port Blair, Mar 23: The scru-tiny of nomination of all the22 candidates who have filedthe nominations for the lone

Scrutiny of nominations today

Music Workshop onDrums and Keyboard and Dance

Workshop for Salsa and JazzPort Blair, Mar 23: A danceand music workshop is beingorganized for the benefit ofIslanders during this Summer.Ave Marvellous Creations isorganizing a Music Workshopfor Drums and Digital Percus-sion and Keyboards whileNaach Academy of Perform-ing Arts is organizing work-shops on Salsa, Jazz, Contem-porary and Hip Hop. TheMusic workshop is a jointventure between Ave Mar-vellous Creations and TarangTrades, a musical instrumentsoutlet.

Children above theage of 5 are eligible for theDance workshops while any-body above the age of 10years can participate in theMusic workshop.

All the resource per-sons for the workshops being

held are coming from Mumbaiand Kolkata. The Drums andkeyboards workshop wouldcommence from the 21st ofApril and would end on the30th of June. Its a Two monthworkshop with an additionalten days thrown in for a per-formance practice. A showwould be put up for the par-ticipants to showcase theirtalent.

The Dance work-shop would commence on the1st of April and would end onthe 30th of June making it athree months long workshop.

Private lessonswould also be given if candi-dates are interested in pursu-ing a crash course in profes-sional playing and dancing.Certificates shall be issued toparticipants of both the work-shops.

Parliamentary Constituency inthese Islands, shall be takenup by the Returning OfficerAndaman & Nicobar IslandsP a r l i a m e n t a r yConstituency(A&NIPC) to-morrow (Mar 24) from 11 amin the Office of ReturningOfficer.

The last date forwithdrawal of candidature isupto 3pm on March 26.

Scrutiny ofnominations

todayPort Blair, Mar 23: The scru-tiny of nomination of all the22 candidates who have filedthe nominations for the loneParliamentary Constituency inthese Islands, shall be takenup by the Returning OfficerAndaman & Nicobar IslandsP a r l i a m e n t a r yConstituency(A&NIPC) to-morrow (Mar 24) from 11 amin the Office of ReturningOfficer.

The last date forwithdrawal of candidature isupto 3pm on March 26.

Promotion of NutritiousKitchen Garden and Value

addition held at CIARI, Port BlairPort Blair, Mar 23: One daytraining cum exposure onNutritious Kitchen Gardenand Value addition was con-ducted on 22nd March, 2014at Chaupal of Social ScienceSection of Central Island Ag-ricultural Research Institute,Port Blair in association withACANI with the support ofNABARD, Port Blair. Theprogramme started with asocial and welcome song bythe women SHGs followed bylighting of lamp by ChiefGuest, Dr. S.Dam Roy, Di-rector, CIARI, Port Blair.

Speaking on occasionthe Chief Guest, Director,CARI applauded the effortsof ACANI and NABARD injoining hands with the Insti-tute for updating the knowl-edge and skill of the womenSHGs members fromDiglipur, Mayabunder,Baratang, Chouldari and

Bambooflat. He informed thatwomen constitute 49% of thetotal population and have alion share in developing thecountry, so top priority shouldbe given on health manage-ment. He urged to grow dif-ferent types of vegetables forconsumption and income gen-eration. Value addition in ag-riculture and allied producehas great potential both dur-ing glut and off season and the

institute has develop the tech-nologies for the same. Hecited example of making to-mato sauce, Mango pickles,banana chips, guava jam, jellyand mushroom, which has gotgood market demand locally.

Father EvansSauras, Director, ACANI re-quested the target group toadopt Nutritious Kitchen Gar-den in their backyard for be-

(See page 7)

Available forFree Disposal

One used MercuryMotherboard, One cabi-net with SMPS and one19 inch monitor areavailable for free dis-posal. Interested par-ties can contact:9932082892.

4 24.03.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

24.03.2014 Daily Issue::66

EDITORIAL.....A tale of two democracies

Abraham Lincoln famously de-clared democracy to be govern-ment by the people, of the peopleand for the people. That remainstrue in principle. In practice, it'scomplicated. Let's look at the ex-amples of two large democracies,the US and India.

For a start, who exactlyare 'the people'? The term has hadevolving connotations over the pastcouple of centuries. Today, wehave come to accept it as refer-ring to a voting majority of the adultpopulation of a given democracy.It wasn’t so in any of the buddingdemocracies in the late 18th to theearly 20th centuries.

When America began itsjourney as a pioneering republicandemocracy in 1787, with a writtenconstitution guaranteeing rights andliberties to 'We, the people', themajority of its four million peoplewere not given the right to vote.Only white, male property-ownershad the right. Women did not gainit till 1920. Native Americans ac-quired it in 1924. Blacks, almost allslaves when the constitution waswritten, did not gain full rights tovote and of equality under the lawacross the country until 1964.

Thus, the concept of 'thepeople' evolved over time inAmerica. In fact, the framers ofthe US constitution in their desireto rein in the possibility of tyranny"feared not only the people's rulersbut the people themselves," writesRobert A Caro in his excellent vol-ume The Years Of Lyndon Johnson:Master Of The Senate. This wasbecause the framers came mainlyfrom "an aristocracy of the edu-cated, the well-born, and the well-to-do". They mistrusted those whowere not similarly privileged.

One framer, James Madi-son, who later was president (1807-17), wrote of real and supposed dif-ferences of interest between therich and the poor and predicted thatin an expanding democracy the lat-ter would come to outnumber theformer. But the framers fearedpeople’s power because it could, ifunchecked, become a tyranny ofthe majority in a system designedto ensure majority rule.

India's example was simi-lar in one way and significantly dif-ferent in another. It was similar be-cause its founding fathers, likeNehru or even Ambedkar, thougha dalit, came from a well-educatedand privileged class in a poor and

largely illiterate country. Theywrote the Constitution in an exclu-sive language espousing soaringideals that the vast majority of thepeople could not read let alonefathom. And in the first decade ortwo after January 26, 1950, an eliteof privileged people governed asleaders of Congress which wasthen the only pan-national politicalentity.

But India's experimentwas sharply different because fromday one the Constitution framerswisely opted to give every citizenthe right to vote. I say wisely be-cause, first, independence rode onthe tsunami of a mass movementthat, under Gandhi's persuasion, in-culcated in the people concepts ofequality and liberty that could notbe snatched away with the dawnof a new republic by any limitedfranchise. Secondly, the framersprofoundly understood India’s re-ality.

That reality, which was amind-boggling ethnic, linguistic, cul-tural and religious diversity of a kindnever before housed within anysingle democratic framework,would create unbearable tension inany system other than a fully par-ticipatory democracy. The recog-nition of this fact was reaffirmedwhen states were created on a lin-guistic basis. India, the framersknew, was a coalition of sub-na-tional identities.

Fast forward to thepresent. Ever since 1989, no gov-ernment has come to power inDelhi without the help of regionalpolitical groups. The coming elec-tion is unlikely to be different. Oh,of course, one party might get animpressive plurality but to governit will have to depend on the sup-port of groups representing a richlydiverse nation.

Whoever emerges trium-phant in May must have or shouldquickly develop a sense of India.Deepening democracy aided byrapid mass communications andexpanding literacy has meant, asMadison foresaw, a gradual eclipseof the old elite. No longer can In-dia be run as an oligarchy of theprivileged pulling strings fromLutyens Nagar.

It's a different India fromthe one in 1950. Its leaders mustfigure out how to manage themyriad differences while ensuringthat majority rule doesn't lead totyranny.

24.03.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair 5

Can drinking water lead to weight loss?Drinking water is often advisedas a way to quicken the weightloss process. However, a nu-trition expert from the Univer-sity of Alabama in Birminghamsays water isn’t the ‘magicbullet’ for losing weight.‘There is very little evidencethat drinking water promotesweight loss; it is one of thoseself-perpetuating myths,’ saidBeth Kitchin, Ph.D., R.D., as-sistant professor of nutritionsciences. ‘I’m not sayingdrinking water isn’t good; butonly one study showed peoplewho drank more water burneda few extra calories, and it wasonly a couple of extra caloriesa day.’

Kitchin says another‘water myth’ is the old adviceto drink eight 8 oz glasses perday. ‘Yes, people do need toget fluids; but it does not have

to be water,’ Kitchin said.‘There’s no evidence that itmelts away fat or makes youfeel fuller, so if you don’t likewater it’s OK.’ She notes thatwater is the best hydrater, butin terms of fluid replacementother options will work, includ-ing green tea or mineral wa-ter/juice combinations.

Caffeinated beveragessuch as coffee also providehydration. ‘People think cof-fee doesn’t count, but actuallyit does,’ Kitchin said. ‘Whenyou drink coffee, your bodyis retaining much of that fluid— especially for people whoare habituated to drinking caf-feine, as the body adapts, re-sulting in a reduced loss of flu-ids.’ (Read: Water is the fuelthat keeps your body fit)

The idea that coldwater burns more calories, as

the body has to work to raisethe temperature, is also a myth,according to Kitchin. ‘You willhear that ice-cold water helpsburn extra calories,’ Kitchinsaid. ‘While there may be afew extra calories lost, itwon’t be nearly enough tomake a dent in your weight-loss endeavours.’ The pro-fessor recommends follow-ing a long-running, research-based weight managementprogram such as Eat Rightby UAB or Volumetrics.(Read: 10 benefits of drink-ing water from a copper ves-sel)

‘These plans werebuilt on the premise that ifyou eat lower-calorie,‘heavier’ foods, you’re notgoing to magically lose 25more pounds than somebodyon a different diet, but it

UN chief calls for globalsolidarity to eradicate TB

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Saturday called for in-creased global solidarity toeradicate tuberculosis ahead ofWorld Tuberculosis DayMarch 24."Tuberculosis is theworld's second most deadlyinfectious disease amongadults, after HIV/AIDS. Everyyear, TB kills 1.3 million peopleand causes nearly nine millionto fall ill," Ban said in a state-ment.

He said it was a "trag-edy" that despite being curable,one third of those who haveTB - some three million people- do not get the treatment theyneed.

"Most are poor. Manyare from marginalised popula-tions such as migrant work-

ers, refugees and internally dis-placed people, prisoners, indig-enous people and ethnic mi-norities," he said.

"Progress in recentyears has proven that we cantackle this threat with con-certed efforts," he added.

He said that between1995 and 2012, global healthinterventions have saved 22million lives and successfullytreated 56 million people suf-fering from TB.

"To accelerate results,we need to increase access tohealth services and mobilisecommunities, hospitals andprivate providers to reachmore people and treat themfaster. We must also investmore in research to find diag-

nostic tools, drugs and vac-cines," Ban said.

Calling it a matter of"social justice", Ban said ev-eryone with TB should haveaccess to services they needfor rapid diagnosis, treatmentand care.

"It is also an issue ofglobal health security, given therapidly emerging problem ofpatients with deadly, exten-sively drug-resistant TB goingundetected. Even when theyare diagnosed, many lack ac-cess to effective treatment,"he said.

By caring for thethree million who do not havethe treatment they need, a bet-ter future for all humankind willbe fostered, he said.

might help you feel fuller andnot hungry,’ Kitchin said.‘While drinking water may nothelp you lose weight, a focus

on eating foods with highwater content like fruits,veggies and broth-basedsoups can.’

6 24.03.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

24.03.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair 7

LOSTMy fishing license beingRegn. No. ANB-TC-MN/256 and Islander Identitycard issued in the nameof Shri. Gobinda Mondal s/o Godu Charan Mondal r/o Durgapur ,lost atDiglipur. Finder please call9476041858.

LOSTBirth certificate issued inthe name of SEEMA DAS(DOB 12.02.1998) fathersname Apan Das, mothersname Sabita rani das r/oSubhash gram , Diglipurlost at Diglipur bazaar.Finder please call9932466007.

coming healthy, wealthy andwise and also to add incometo their family.

Dr. Nagesh Ram,PC, KVKs and the Guest ofhonour informed about thedifferent programmes con-ducted by KVK for the tar-get groups and also deliveredlecture on Value addition inagricultural produce for nutri-tional security,livelihood andentrepreneurship by SHGs.Dr.M.Sankaran, Senior Sci-entist ( Horticulture) spoke onValue addition in tubers,

Dr.Shrawan Singh ,Scientist(Horticulture) onModel kitchen garden &value addition of vegetablecrops and Dr. S. K. ZamirAhmed, I/c Social ScienceSection on Livelihood optionwith Nutritious Kitchen Gar-den. Beside visit to DweepKrishi Darpan , feedback ses-sion was coordinated by Mr.Amit Srivastava, STO. A to-tal of twenty seven womenand three man, totaling tothirty farmers attended theprogramme.

Promotion of..... (From page 3) MOVING EYES.....

Foreign Passenger Cruise Ship “CRYSTAL SYMPHONY” arrived at Haddo Wharf,Port Blair on her voyage on 22nd March 2014. First visit of this vessel at Port Blairwas on 14th march 1998. Pix: Special Arrangement.

Election Update: Total 22 candidates in the frayPort Blair, Mar 22: A total of22 candidates have filed theirnominations for the single LokSabha seat in Andaman andNicobar Islands, which willgo to polls April 10 in thephase 3 of the 2014 generalelections.

Yesterday was thelast date for filing nominationsin A & N Lok Sabha Constitu-ency and as many as elevencandidates filed their nomina-

tion papers today.Since March 18 to

yesterday evening KuldeepRai Sharma of Indian NationalCongress, Gaur ChandraMajumder of Bahujan SamajParty, Sanjay Meshack ofAam Aadmi Party, Sushil KrMondal of Indian NationalCongress, R S UmaBharatthy of Nationalist Con-gress Party, Mohd. Azuriddinof Nationalist Congress

Party, K G Das CPI (M), VM Naidu Telegu DesamParty, Manika Rao of TeleguDesam party, Raghubir Singhof Samajwadi Party, N K PNair of CPI (ML) (L), AnitaMondal of All India TrinamoolCongress, Bishnu Pada Rayof Bharatiya Janata Partyand nine Independent Candi-dates have filed nominationpapers. Kuldeep Rai Sharma

one to read so please refrainfrom grabbing the wholepile, and worse, don’t stickthem into your bag or tearpages. Don’t ask other peoplewhy they are here. By thesame token, don’t go intogory details of your health

problems unless, of courseyou have found a pair of veryeager ears. Last but not the least,this is not the place to smokeor spread out your eatables.

A pinch of cour-tesy and dollop of consid-eration will work wonders.

WAITING ROOM.. (From page 2)

WWW.ANDAMANSHEEKHA.COM

(See page 8)

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.

8 24.03.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

Job VacancyWanted a manager for field and office admin-istration.  Knowledge of computers manda-tory. Preferably a Graduate with good com-munication skills and two wheeler license.Handsome Salary and Perks.

Greenos of GSSS Sabaricelebrates World Water Day

Rangat, Mar 23: World Wa-ter Day was celebrated withgreat zeal and enthusiasm bythe Greenos of GSSS Sabarion 22.03.2014. Greenos per-formed street plays on thetheme :”Water and Energy”at 10 different locations inthe morning hours coveringRangat, Nimbutala, RangatBay, Dasarathpur, Sabari andBakultala village. The aimwas to spread awareness tosave water. Water is one ofthe essential commodities forhumans. However, the timeis such that there is a direneed to conserve water andstop its misuse.

The street play wasbased on the message to con-serve water. The charactersof the street play also in-formed that the play wasbased on the message of sav-ing water and conserving it.Local people too agreed thatthere was a need to conservewater today if we wanted topreserve this precious com-modity for our future genera-tions. During the inauguralstreet play at Rangat Bazaar,

the Chief Guest Shri SusenMallick, DEO, Rangat saidthat, water is a free gift ofnature and we cannot evenimagine life without water.He said that throughout theworld, the water table is re-ceding at an alarming rate.

This has given riseto the concern of scholarswho are predicting that thethird World War will befought over water. He ap-preciated the efforts takenup by the Greeno Eco Cluband appealed to the studentsto carry on their mission tosave water and motherEarth.

Pr incipal of the

school in his address saidthat the institution has al-ways taken up issues of glo-bal concern. The problem ofwater is one of the burningissues of the present timesand it is our social responsi-bility to do something in thisdirection.

Pamphlets werealso distributed among thegatherings which was devel-oped by the school GreenoEco Club in three languages(English, Hindi & Bengali)containing information onwater and some tips whichcan be easily adopted byeveryone to conserve everyprecious drop of water.

Ship passage during summervacation; requisition sought

Port Blair, Mar 23: TheDEO, South Andaman hasbeen assigned the duty to ar-range ship passage in respectof all teaching and non-teaching staff of EducationDepartment for their onwardand inward journey to main-land bound ship to Chennai/Kolkata during the summervacation-2014. In this re-

gard, the zonal officer andHead of Institutions havebeen requested to inform theteaching/non teaching staffof their respective schoolsand submit their passage req-uisition form for onward andinward journey during sum-mer vacation latest by April15, 2014.

The passage money

as per the entitled of the of-ficials/teaching/non-teachingstaff of cabin/bunk may besubmitting to the DeputyEducation Officer, SouthAndaman through DD wisewithin stipulated date. Thepassage requisition form sub-mitted after April 15 will notbe accepted, a communica-tion received here said.

reported f rom Nic obarGroups of Islands.

For people o fA nd aman and NicobarIslands, who had sufferedthe burnt of devastatingTsunami and a massiveearthquake on 26 December2004, such sudden increasein number of earthquake isa serious mat ter o fconcern.

“Thanks to socialmedia, we keep gettingd et a ils about ever yearthquake that is recordednear A & N Islands. Thistime since 21 March 2014

Series of...t hese Island s haver ec ord ed nearly 22ear t hq uakes , whic happears very serious issuefor us,” Dipankar Das, ayouth living in Port Blairtold ‘Andaman Sheekha’today.

A nd aman andNicobar Islands, wherenearly 3800 people died in2004 t sunami, ar eearthquake prone and fallsin Zone V in seismic map.

However, theA nd aman and NicobarAdministration says thatthere is not much to worry

about this issue.“When there are

continuous earthquakes,one af t er anot her , i tbec omes a mat ter o fconcern for people andespec ial ly for o ff ic ialsMinistry of Science butthey found that there is notmuch to worry about. Thesequakes will gradually fadeout. This is a process inwhic h ear th re leasesenergy, whenever there istoo much stress inside,”Director of Andaman’sD isast er Management ,A shok Sharma t old

‘Andaman Sheekha’ today.Sharma said that

in April 2012 also similarpattern of quakes werer eport ed f rom A & NIsland s for c ingA dminis tr a t ion t o c al lexpert s f r om Ind ianMeteorological Department

“In 2012 we wereworried about these quakesand after conducting studythe expert of IMD told usthat there is not to worrymuch about this matter, inthis particular region,” theDirector added.

L ear ning lesson

from 2004 t sunami ,And aman and Nic obarIslands have now set up anet wo r k o f D is as t erCont r o l R ooms andE mer g enc y Oper at ionCent er s ac r oss t hesescattered Islands, whichare manned 24 hours sothat in case of any naturaldisaster like tsunami, theIs land er s c ould bewarned.

Most importantlythe Islands now have afull-fledged departmentc a l led D ep ar t ment o fDisaster Management.

(From page 1)

Election Update...of Indian National Congressand Bishnu Pada Ray ofBharatiya Janata Party arethe main contenders of theLS seat of A & N Islands.The total number of votersin all three districts ofAndaman and Nicobar Is-lands is 2,57,859, out of

(From page 7)

which 136357 are male and121502 are female. TheElection Commissioner issetting up total 386 pollingstations in Andaman andNicobar Islands to ensureconvenience of voter andsmooth polling in these re-mote and scattered Islands.