VOL: 03 I ISSUE NO: 12 I REG NO:ANDENG/2011/38184 I 14 JANUARY 2014 I TUESDAY I Rs. 2.00 I DAILY I PORT BLAIR I www.andamansheekha.com

PRINCE STORE

(See page 7)

President visits Car NicobarLauds efforts of the Administration fortsunami rehabilitation work; Nicobariyouth for their performance in sports

Car Nicobar Jan 13: ThePresident of India, Mr.Pranab Mukherjee said thatIndia is emerging as apowerful economy in theworld. This is because of thecontribution of all, especiallythe youth, who have taken upthe challenges with courageand conviction, he said whileaddressing the people at afunction at Passa Beach heretoday. The President was ona day’s visit to the Island.“The youth of Car Nicobar arepart and parcel of this greatcountry”, he said.

Lauding the effortsmade by the Administration,the President said that in the

tsunami rehabilitation workhas been completed in goodtime but the work fordevelopment ofinfrastructure facilitieswhich will enhance theirskill and knowledge willcontinue, he said.

Appreciating theperformances of theNicobarese youth in sports,the President said that theyhave shown excellence innational competitionsespecially in football. They

Car Nicobar, Jan 13: ThePresident of India, Mr.Pranab Mukherjee wasaccorded a befitting send offwhen he left for mainlandthis afternoon on completionof his three-day visit to theIslands. Mr. Mukherjee wasseen-off at the Car NicobarAirport by the Lt. Governor,

President accordedaffectionate send off

Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A K Singh, theCommander-in-Chief, A&NCommand, Air Marshal P KRoy, the Chief Secretary, Mr.Anand Prakash, the DeputyCommissioner, Nicobars, Ms.Shakshi Mittal, Chairman,Tribal Council and a host ofsenior officers from Defenceand Civil Administration.

President’s visit to islesLG lauds everyone’s support &

co-operation for making it memorablePort Blair, Jan 13: The Lt.Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A KSingh has conveyed hisappreciation and gratitude tothe people of AndamanNicobar Islands, allfunctionaries of the Local SelfGovernment and TribalCouncil, all ranks of theofficers and men of the A&NCommand, all the officials of

the A&N Administration &the Central Govt.Departments for theirwholehearted support andco-operation during the visitof the President of India toAndaman & Nicobar Islands,making it a memorable one, acommunication from theSecretary (IP&T) said heretoday.

President’s visit leavestourists high and dry

Port Blair, Jan 13: The visitof President of India hascome as a great shock forsome tourists, who hadplanned their visit toAndaman this weekend,without knowing aboutPresident’s visit to theseIslands.

Due to President’svisit the Light and SoundShow was suspended fortourists on Saturday. AsSunday the Radha Nagar

beach was closed fortourists for President’svisit, most of the touristswere diverted to Baratangby tour operators onSunday and hence even onSunday they could not seeLight and Sound Show.As usual Monday therewas no Light and SoundShow for tourists becauseon Monday is weekly off inCellular Jail.

Again Tuesday wehave holiday for Pongal

(See page 2)

Staff CorrespondentSheekha News Service

2 14.01.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair

On the auspicious occasion of Makara Sankranti andPongal, I extend my warm and heartiest greetings to thepeople of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Known to be a popular harvest festival MakaraSankranti and Pongal herald the advent of Spring, whichmarks a period of plenty, peace and happiness.

Rejoicing by the people, taking a holy dip,worshipping Lord Surya, bonfires and feasts are featurescommon to these harvest festivals.

May Makara Sankranti and Pongal usher in anera of peace, happiness and prosperity for the people ofour Islands.

Sd/-Lt Gen (Retd) A K Singh

Lieutenant Governor, A & N Islands

Greetings

I am happy to note that Animal Welfare Fortnight is beingobserved in the A & N Islands from 14 - 30 January 2014.

Kindness and Compassion towards all livingcreatures help us to become better human beings. Eachanimal or bird occupies a unique position in ourecological system which must be recognized andprotected by us.

The Animal Welfare Fortnight is an occasion forevery citizen to remind himself/herself of their dutiestowards protection of all living creatures.

My best wishes to the State Advisory Board forAnimal Welfare of these Islands on this occasion.

Sd/-Lt Gen (Retd) A K Singh

Lieutenant Governor, A & N Islands

MESSAGE

On the auspicious occasion of Milad-Un-Nabi, I extendmy warm heartfelt greetings to the people of Andamanand Nicobar Islands.

Id-e-Milad, also known as ‘Milad-Un-Nabi’ iscelebrated to mark the birthday of Prophet HazratMohammed. This important occasion reminds us toobserve and celebrate the birth of the Prophet and histeachings to mankind.

The occasion reiterates the need for peace andamity amongst all sections of the people. Let theteachings of Prophet Mohammed inspire all of us tofollow the path of righteousness.

Sd/-

Lt Gen (Retd) A K SinghLieutenant Governor

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Greetings

PM reiteratescommitment to nuclear safety

Reiterating the Government’scommitment to ensure fullsafety of nuclear powerplants, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh expressedconfidence that the countrywould he able to meet thetarget of raising it nuclearpower capacity to 27,000MW over the next 10 years.

Laying the founda-tion stone for a 2,800 MWnuclear power project inFatehabad, he noted that overthe past 10 years the countrywas able to add more capac-ity in the power sector thanwhat was achieved in the 55years before that.

Elaborating on theissue of nuclear safety, herecalled that in recent yearsthe Government had con-

ducted a thorough review ofall the nuclear power plantsin the country and severalnew measures were taken tomake them safer. “We regu-larly test our safety standardsagainst other countries to en-sure that India always re-mained as a foremost coun-try in the entire world in thearea of nuclear safety’’.

He also noted that India wasable to start having commerceand trade in the area ofnuclear energy with othercounties in 2008 following anagreement with the U.S. onnuclear cooperation. “[Due tothe agreement] we are nowable to get latest nuclear tech-nologies as also adequate sup-

(See page 7)

Kuldeep Meets President;Highlights problems of A & N Islands

Port Blair, Jan 13: The PCCPresident Kuldeep RaiSharma along with a delega-tion of senior leaders of theCongress Party met thePresident of India Mr PranabMukherjee on 12th Januaryat Raj Niwas and extendedhis warm heartfelt greetingsfor visiting far flung A & NIslands.

During the meetingKuldeep highlighted variousissues of these Islandsinfront of the President vizLegislative Assembly orPradesh Council; Inner-linePermit to Check the influxof population; 100% Localrecruitment to solve un-em-ployment problems; Creationof Andaman & NicobarPublic Service Commission

for recruitment to the postsof Andaman & Nicobar Ad-ministration; Relief and Re-habilitation of Tsunami af-fected farmers; Grant of Spe-cial Status to Chotanagpuri(Ranchi) Community residentin A & N Islands for 4% res-ervation in posts/ services/technical & non technicalhigher education quota underA & N Administration; LegalStatus to Tribal Council; Set-ting up of Women Commis-sion in A & N Islands; Regu-larization of Excess land ofpre-1942 and pre 1961 old in-habitants and settlers, en-croachments done prior to theyear 2007 and providing landto landless islanders; En-hancement in MBBS seatsfor the students of A&N

Islands; Special package forEmployment Generation; Ex-tension of Inland Vessel (IV)Water Limits in Andaman &Nicobar Islands etc.

and hence on Tuesdayalso touristswill not be ableto see Light and SoundShow. Most of the touristscome to Andaman andNicobar Islands only for afew days and the presentbat ch was unfortunateenough to miss the famouslight and sound show.Theproblem for tourists does

President’s visit... (From page 1)not end here. Those touristswho are supposed to cometo Port Blair from Havelocktoday had a horrible timewaiting for the vessel as thePolice Jawans and otherstaffs on President’s dutywere supposed to come toPort Blair by the same boatand hence both morningand evening boats were

delayed for more than onehour.

Cons id er ing thehardship of tourists theA dminis tr a t ion mustconduct special Light andSound Show on Tuesdaysfor these unlucky tourists.Hope t he Tour ismDepartment will react toproblems of tourists.

All Set for Pongal at Tiranga Park, Port Blair

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Port Blair, Jan 13: The PCCPresident Kuldeep RaiSharma and all leaders havegreeted the Islanders on theoccasion of Pongal, Lohriand Milad Un Navi, thebi r th da y of P r ophetMuhammad Sahab whichfalls on 14th January.

Lohri and Pongalare harvest festivals and

Kuldeep Greets Islandersan occasion to celebratethe contr ibut ion of ourfa rmer s and our t r adi-tional ethos, culture andeconomy while the MiladUd Navi reminds us thepr eaching of the HolyProphet who showed usthe righteous path of com-passion, tolerance and uni-versal brother hood.

Jolly Greets IslandersPort Blair, Jan 13: The StatePresident of BharatiyaJanata Party, A&N IslandsMr. Vishal Jolly & all the

Party Leaders has greeted allthe Islanders on the occasionof Pongal &Makarsankranti.

Port Blair, Jan 13: The Presi-dent of India and SupremeCommander of the ArmedForces Mr. PranabMukherjee today visited stra-tegically important Air ForceStation, Car Nicobar, which issouthernmost Air Force Baseof India.The President wasreceived at Car Nicobar, byAir Marshal PK Roy, Com-mander-in-Chief, Andaman& Nicobar Command, AirCmde Arun Bhaskar, Air Of-ficer Commanding Air ForceComponent and Gp CaptSanjeev Vashishth, StationCommander Air Force StationCar Nicobar. The Presidentlaid a wreath at the Air ForceTsunami Memorial to pay

homage to the personnel andtheir families who lost theirlives during Tsunami on 26December 2004.

The Air Force basewas devastated by BoxingDay tsunami of 2004, which

killed nearly 116 people, in thebase, including Air Force per-sonnel and their familymembers.However, withinfour months, in April 2005 theAir Force Base was declaredBattle ready by India.

President of India visits India’sSouthernmost Air Force base

Port Blair, Jan 13: The A &N State Coop. Bank observesNational Youth Day 2014 in agrand gala function organisedin the premises of Dr. B RAmbedkar Auditorium, PortBlair on 13th January, 2014.Shri. N K Sharma, IAS, Sec-retary (Cooperation) & RD,PRI & ULB, A & N Admin-istration was the Chief Gueston the occasion. The otherdignitaries included Shri.Bhagat Singh, Chairman,ANSCB, SwamiAmartyananda Maharaj ji(Ramakrishna Mission),Swami SudhanadaSaraswathi Maharaj ji(Chinmaya Mission), Shri.Kuldeep Rai Sharma, ViceChairman, ANSCB, Shri.Ravinder Rao, Managing Di-

rector, ANSCB, Senior Offi-cials of the Bank, Staff, Fac-ulties from JNRM Collegeand a large gathering ofyouths from all the corners ofthe Society.

The programme be-gan by the lightning of thelamp by the dignitaries fol-lowed by paying floral tributeto Swami Vivekananda ji. Asweet welcome song wasalso presented by the groupof youths. At the Outset, Shri.Ravinder Rao, MD welcomedthe Chief Guest and all thedignitaries present in theDias. He further stressed

upon the need for learningfrom the values and principlesof Swami Vivekananda ji.

S w a m iAmartyananda Maharaj ji(Ramakrishna Mission, PortBlair) conducted a brief ses-sion on the Values and Prin-ciples of Swami VivekanandaJi. He further stated thatSwami Vivekananda’s birth-day (12 January 1863), ac-cording to the Indian Alma-nac (Vishuddha SiddhantaAlmanac) is on PaushaKrishna Saptami tithi, whichfalls on different dates in theEnglish Calendar every year(generally in the month ofJanuary). This is observed invarious centres ofRamakrishna Math. He alsoinformed that he is happy tobe a part of this session.

Swami SudhanadaSaraswathi Maharaj ji(Chinmaya Mission, PortBlair) informed that NationalYouth Day is celebrated inIndia on 12th January on thebirthday of SwamiVivekananda. He also saidthat ‘it is felt that the philoso-phy of Swamiji and the idealsfor which he lived and workedcould be a great source of in-spiration for the Indian Youth.Swami Vivekananda believedthat a country’s future de-pends on its people, and histeachings focused on humandevelopment. He wanted “to

ANSCB Observes National Youth Day2014, Pays tribute to Swami Vivekananda

Public hearing at Raj NiwasPort Blair, January 13:T he Tu es da y’s p u b l ichearing on 14th January2014 by the Lt Governor

a t Ra j Niwas has beenpostponed, a Raj Niwascommunication sa id to-day.

(See page 4)

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14.01.2014 Daily Issue::12

EDITORIAL.....Agatha Christie still remains

queen of crime fictionOf all the various genres that inhabitthe literary world, not one has cap-tured readers' imaginations as muchas the 'whodunit' murder mystery. Itsidea comprises a simple yet captivat-ing format of body count steadily ris-ing through the story, as one tries toguess the identity of the guilty partythrough a rapidly diminishing set ofsuspects. The denouement or finalunravelling of the plot is usually ac-companied by a gathering of all sur-viving characters into one room and aproverbial clap to the head (migraineoptional), with the exclamation, "Ofcourse! Why didn't i think of it be-fore? It was so obvious!"

Perhaps in the early forerun-ners of the saga, set amidst large, lonelymanors and scheming aristocrats, thebutler did it; hence the expression. Infact, so unlikely has it become now forthe aforementioned help to performthe dastardly deed that it would bethe ultimate twist in the tale if he actu-ally did - a little kink astutely insertedin the Neil Simon spoof, Murder byDeath.

With Agatha Christie beinguniversally accepted as the queen ofcrime fiction - in a pantheon shared byRex Stout, Mickey Spillane, ElleryQueen, Dorothy Sayers, G KChesterton and others - the questionbecomes not just one of who did whatto whom (a process less charitably ex-plored by the somewhat sleazier 'skinfriction' genre), but who solves thecase? Is it the pompous Belgian (withmannerisms 'sticklier' than fabled Bel-gium chocolates) or the deceptivelydocile, mossy-haired marm of themoors, Mrs Marple; or even the rela-tively lesser known Mr Parker Pyne?

In Death Comes as the End,Christie goes beyond the manors andsets the story 4,000 years back, in apharaoh's family in ancient Egypt. InMurder of Roger Ackroyd, she playsthe ultimate joke on the reader by mak-ing the person narrating the story infirst person, the killer. Spoiler alert! Inyet another tale, the entire solution lies

in determining which of the three wordswas emphasised in the exclamation, "Shewasn't there!" Finally, in 4:50 fromPaddington, Christie gets the murderer,a dentist (spoiler alert again - somebody,stop me!), to appear before the witnessin the same position as he had while com-mitting the dastardly act - in this case,bending over a patient - thereby joggingthe witness's memory.

Each time, the reader was sup-posedly confounded and confoozled,despite a slew of clues being given allthrough the tale. Some like yours trulytried pulling the ultimate deduction gim-mick by suspecting everyone; if only tobe able to exclaim in the end, "I knew it!"Unfortunately, the only time this reallypaid off was in Murder on the Orient Ex-press where literally everyone turns outto be the killer and takes turns in stab-bing the victim (never mind if logic dic-tates that he'd be dead after the first fewplunges anyway).

Christie's very own personalmystery appeared when she herself dis-appeared for a period of 11 days, a phe-nomenon attributed by others withequally active imaginations to a dirtyweekend with a paramour - Mr and MrsSmith, etc.

The covers of her books wereequally interesting, involving an art decostyle of weapons, from guns and knivesto poison vials and hangman's nooses.In time, even a parlour game, Cluedo, wasinspired - leading to frequent referencesin popular media concerning ColonelMustard in the library or Professor Plumin the billiards room.

Not to be left behind,Bollywood jumped into the fray (evenbefore it was called Bollywood) with itsown version of Ten Little Niggers inGomorrah-like Gumrah, with an 11th vic-tim thrown in for good measure - viz plotcredibility! Still, even after all these years,who can forget all those charminglywicked characters and the mesmeric littlerhyme itself: "Ten little niggers set downto dine, One choked his little self andthen there were nine." Ah, those simpleand innocent crimes.

set in motion machinery which will bring no-blest ideas to the doorstep of even the poor-est and the meanest”.Shri. Bhagat Singh, Chairman, ANSCB in his

key note address urged all theyouths and people present onthe occasion to take the bestout of oneself for the growthand development of each andevery individual, thereby thedevelopment of the Nation.Shri. Kandimuthu, Asst. Pro-fessor, JNRM also spoken onthe ideology of SwamiVivekananda and motivatedthe youth with his speech andurged them to come forwardto contribute in Nation Build-ing.Shri. N K Sharma, IAS, Sec-

retary (Cooperation) & RD,PRI & ULB, A & N Admin-

istration in his welcome ad-dress appreciated the effortsof the Bank in organising sucha wonderful programme forthe Youths of the Island. Hestressed that SwamiVivekananda linked moralitywith control of the mind, see-ing truth, purity and unselfish-ness as traits, strengthenedthe life of the people. He ad-vised people to be holy, un-selfish and to have úraddhâ(faith). He also emphasisedthat “Success was an out-come of focused thought andaction”- the prime Principlesof Swami Vivekananda ji.

The programmeended with vote of thanks pro-posed by Shri. Abhinav Pal,AGM (IT), ANSCB.

ANSCB Observes...... (From page 3)

Salman Khan Takes To Twitter,Facebook In Support Of Bollywood

There has been too much writ-ten about the Saifai Mahotsavand finally Salman Khan hastaken on twitter to make hisstand clear.

The latest star kid tohave made her mark inBollywood, Alia Bhatt, hasalso been under fire for per-forming a t the Sa ifaiMahotsav, following which herfather Mahesh Bhatt issued anapology. However, our Super-star Khan, who was alsoamongst the performers, saysthe filmmaker needn’t be apolo-getic about his daughter’s up-bringing.

Salman wrote on twitter,“Bhatt Saab, no need for anapology, Alia’s upbringing isgreat. I was proud to share thestage with her. She earns her liv-ing with hard work and dignity.”

Mahesh Bhatt hadapologized for letting Alia per-form at the Saifai Mahotsav or-ganized by Samajwadi Partychief and former Uttar Pradeshchief minister Mulayam SinghYadav. Alia’s sister, actressPooja Bhatt also took to herfather’s defense and said that hehad not fa iled as a father.“Mahesh Bhatt, you have notfailed as a father. Alia needs rep-resentation that has a far moresensitized and astute world view.End of story,” Pooja wrote ontwitter.Salman even took toFacebook to explain that themoney that he earned from theevent has been directed towardsa noble cause.

“Whenever I vis it aplace for a performance or a pro-

motion, I see it as an opportunity tohelp the loca ls in the a reas ofhealthcare or education. In Nagpur,on Sunday, Being Human pledged tofund hundred pediatric cardiac casesin Maharashtra State.

In Etawah, Being Human, onbehalf of all artists who performedyesterday, has committed to fund twohundred pediatric heart surgeries inUP (there is already a wait list ofeight one children we have receivedwho are being moved to Fortis Hos-pital Gurgaon and their surgeries willget done by month end and Being Hu-man is in touch with local NGOs andhospitals for their lists also).

We have also contributed Rs25 lakh to the Jawaharlal NehruMedical College and Hospital for thepurchase of an Echo Machine, Pedi-atric and neo natal ventilator and aportable X-ray machine for their pe-diatric cardiac ICU.”

It was not just Salman andAlia, but several Bollywood stars likeMadhuri Dixit , Ranveer Singh,Mallika Sherawat, Varun Dhawan,Sidharth Malhotra, Remo, Sajid Wajidand Hard Kaur, were flown in a char-tered jet and Uttar Pradesh Chief Min-ister Akhilesh Yadav too has beencriticised for spending money on theactors while this could have been usedfor the relief and rehabilitation of theMuzaffarnagar riot victims.

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LOSTA Bond issued by the SILI-CON PROJECT INDIA LIM-ITED, Branch at Rangatthrough the Member PradipDas Code No. 0225342 infavour of Shri Kiran Roy R/oNimbutala has been lost on 4/10/2013 from Nimbutala.Findermay kindly contact at9474217609.

LOSTI, Thanishlas Ekka S/o GabrialEkka R/o Betapur has lost myDriving License No. 5559/PDL/90 on 8/10/2013 atBetapur. Finder may kindlycontact at owner of the STPaul Contractor at Betapur.

Port Blair, Jan 13: It is brought to the notice of thegeneral consumers and government departmentsthat the Isolators of 33 KV outdoor switchyard atGaracharma Sub-Station is not functioning prop-erly. The maintenance work of Isolator of Pan-ther-II will be carried out on 15.01.14 from 0700hours to 1100 hours. Due to this, power supplywill be affected in Prathrapur, Japan Nallah,Austinabad, Corbyns’ Cove, Brichgunj,Brookshabad, part of Chakkargoan, CARl, GSS,Bird Line, Calicut, Kamraj Nagar, Beodnabad,Rangachang, Burmanallah & Chidiyatapu.

Power supply toremain affected on Jan 15

LOSTI, Basudev Das S/o Late Ananda Ch. Das R/oPareshnagar has lost my island identity CardNo. 10212201199201 on 7/11/2013 fromNimbudera Bazar. Finder may contact at9531841454.

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14.01.2014 Rs. 2.00 Andaman Sheekha Daily Port Blair 7

have accepted the modernway of life but at the sametime have maintained theirtraditional culture, which isthe right way; he said.

Earlier, the Presidentvisited Tsunami Memorial atAir Force Station and BigLapathy village and paidhomage to the victims of thetsunami of 26th December2004. He also visited St.Thomas new cathedral atMus.

Speaking on theoccasion, the Lt. Governor, Lt.Gen. (Retd.) A K Singh, saidthat the natural flair of theNicobari youth in sports suchas football and cycling inwhich they have excelled atnational and internationalcompetitions is visible, hesaid and apprised thePresident of thedevelopmental work

President visits... (From page 1)

undertaken by theAdministration.

The function wasgraced among others by theChief Secretary, Mr. AnandPrakash and senior officers ofthe Administration.

Mr. Aberdeen Blair,Chairman, Tribal CouncilCar Nicobar presentedmemento to the President.

Indigenous gamesand cultural programmeswere presented by the tribal

youth of Car Nicobar. Theseincluded Nicobari wrestling,stick fight, pillow fight,Nicobari folk dances and apatriotic Bangla song.

Earlier, Mr.Chamberlain Paul, ViceChairman Tribal Councilwelcomed the dignitarieswhile the function concludedwith the vote of thanks,proposed by Mr. MohanjeetSingh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Revenue).

Port Blair, Jan 13: With therest of country our Islands isalso celebrating Pongal,Makar Sankranti andId-E-Milad. On this occasionMr Bishnu Pada Ray,Hon’ble Member ofParliament extends warm

MP Greets Islandersgreetings to best wishes topeoples of Andaman andNicobar Islands for celebrat-ing the said holy festivals intraditions with peace andharmony and also forstrengthening the unity of thenation.

Port Blair, January 2014: Theinaugural ceremony of IslandTourism Festival- 2014 willbe telecast LIVE in the worldwide network ofDoordarshan DD Bharatifrom 5 pm on 14th, Jan , 2014and simultaneously in the Re-gional network DDK, PortBlair.

A part from the inau-gural ceremony ITF will becarried LIVE by DDK, PortBlair in its Regional ChannelDD-1 from 6 pm to 8pm dur-

ITF 2014 Live on DD Bharati & DDK Port Blairing the entire festival i.e. 14thto 24 Jan, 2014 including Sat-urday & Sunday.

The closing cer-emony will also be carriedLIVE on DD Bharati, whichwill transmit the signals tomore than 50 countriesaround the world.

As per Cable Televi-sion Network (Regulation)Act. 1995 it is mandatory forevery Cable TV operator totelecast the above on PrimeBand and retransmit the same.

All the viewers of A&N Is-lands are requested that com-plaints if any, against the Cableoperator who is not abiding tocable network act and not re-transmitting with clarity mayapproach the Deputy Com-missioner or Superintendent ofPolice of the District con-cerned for the redressal of thecomplaint. Islanders can alsosent their complaints to theDirector, Doordarshan KendraP.O Box 691 Haddo.P.O., PortBlair.

Port Blair, Jan 13: Mr. B.Chandrachoodan, Presidentand PK Khalid, General Sec-retary of the Govt. MotorTransport Drivers’ Union(CITU) have deeplymourned the sudden and un-

timely death of Shri M.Shajuddin, Bus Driver in theState Transport Services,posted at Rangat, on12th January,  2014  at  GBPant Hospital, Port Blair. Hewas 54 years.

CITU mourns death

BJP steps up attack against Jayanthi NatarajanThe BJP on Monday steppedup its attack against formerEnvironment MinisterJayanthi Natarajan and de-manded to know why multi-crore projects, some of whichwere critical to the country’sgrowth were stalled.

Party spokespersonNirmala Sitharaman de-fended the comments madeby the BJP’s prime ministe-

rial nominee Narendra Modion Sunday referring to a‘Jayanthi Tax’ while referringto the backlog of pending ap-plications with the Ministry.

She cited the numberof projects that have beencleared by the current Envi-ronment Minister M.Veerappa Moily in the pastfortnight as proof that his pre-decessor was “stalling”

projects. “Mr. Moily clearedthe Posco project in Orissa,NHPC’s 520 MW Teesta IVin Sikkim, another inTawang,... why were all theseheld back earlier?” Ms.Sitharaman said, addressingthe media.

“Why were peopleapproaching the Prime Min-isters Office for clearances?

(See page 8)

PM reiterates... (From page 3)

ply of nuclear fuel from othercountries’’.

The nuclear powerproject, for which the PrimeMinister laid the foundationstone, would consist of fourreactors of 700 MW each.Initially two reactors would beerected and commissionedover the next six to sevenyears.

In the pipeline since2009, the project had facedstiff resistance from environ-mental activists as well aspeople living in the area. Au-thorities achieved a break-through last year after mostof the farmers, on whose landthe project comes up, agreedto part with it and end theirprotest. There are, however,many more hurdles yet to becrossed.

In particular, a sec-tion of farmers in the

neighbourhood has been pro-testing against the proposal touse water from the Bhakradam for the plant on theground that it would affect ir-rigation supplies and drinkingwater requirements.

The former Chief ofthe Army Staff, Gen. V.K.Singh, and a retired IAS of-ficer, M.G. Devasahayam,have been among those in theforefront of the agitation. Theprotests have become morestrident following theFukushima incident in Japan.

The Prime Minister,in his speech noted that thesite for the project was se-lected after a very carefulreview with adequate atten-tion to all issues and said thatabout eight to 10 lakh personscould get employment duringthe construction of the firstphase of the project.

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.

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Port Blair, Jan 13: Mr. BishnuPada Ray, the Member ofParliament , A&N Islands hascondoled the death of Naim

MP condoles deathUllah Khan, age 75 years, R/o Dollygunj, Word No.3, PortBlair Tehsil, who expired on13.01.2014, at his residence.

Modi nervous about AAP’s emergence: CongNEW DELHI: Congress onMonday took potshots atNarendra Modi over his attackon the Aam Aadmi Party andasked whether the emergenceof Arvind Kejriwal’s party hasmade the BJP’s prime minis-terial candidate “nervous”.

“Modi’s criticism ofCongress is understandable,but of late he has started criti-cizing AAP too. Is he reallynervous by AAP’s emer-gence,” AICC general secre-tary in charge for Delhi,Shakeel Ahmad said on Twit-ter.

In an apparent dig atAAP, Modi had, on Sunday,asked whether good can hap-pen by constantly being on TVscreens or through construc-tive vision on the ground.

“People must decidewill good happen by con-stantly being on TV screensor through constructive and

development-oriented visionon ground,” he had tweetedsoon after addressing a rallyin Goa.

“There are somewho are questioning theBJP’s credentials. TheCongress’s protector is ques-tioning us,” Modi had said.

Earlier, AAP had questionedBJP’s credentials. The war ofwords between BJP and AAPis growing amid realization inthe opposition party thatKejriwal’s entry could harmBJP’s interest much morethan that of Congress in LokSabha polls.

Justice Swatanter Kumar skips officeas SC agrees to hear intern’s petition

NEW DELHI: JusticeSwatanter Kumar, who facesthe allegation of unwelcomesexual behaviour by a law in-tern, did not attend office atnational green tribunal onMonday.Justice Kumar absented him-self from NGT on healthgrounds.

Earlier, the SupremeCourt agreed to hear a peti-tion by the law intern, againstthe alleged incident of May2011.

The top court willhear the petition on Wednes-

day. The law graduate movedthe apex court on Mondayand has challenged the SC’sDecember 5 decision not toentertain complaints againstretired judges.

A bench headed byChief Justice P Sathasivam,before whom the matter wasmentioned for urgent hearing,agreed to take up the case onJanuary 15.

The intern hassought the setting up of a gen-der committee on the line ofVishaka judgment to look intosexual harassment com-

plaints against sitting and re-tired judges. She has alsopleaded with the apex courtto constitute a forum to con-duct an inquiry into her alle-gations of sexual harassment.

The intern has madesecretary general of SupremeCourt, Justice (retd)Swatanter Kumar and theCentre, parties in the case.

Justice Kumar, whois currently heading the Na-tional Green Tribunal, has de-scribed the allegations as “in-credulous and false” and“some kind of conspiracy”.

Encounter between terroristsand security forces in Sopore

SRINAGAR: An encounterbroke out between terroristsand security forces in Soporearea of north Kashmir ’sBaramulla district on Monday,but there was no report of anycasualty.

“A gunfight brokeout between security forces

and terrorists in Bomai areaof Sopore following an anti-militancy operation in thearea,” a police spokesmansaid.

The spokesman saidthere was no immediate re-port of anyone getting injuredin the operation.

The Ministry of Environmentand Forests worked some-times with a green con-science and sometimes withfunctioned as a red ministry.No clearances were issued,decisions were delayed;there was also cherry pick-ing, only selective projectswere approved and therewere other considerations(during Ms. Natarajan’s ten-ure). Delhi was abuzz withgossip and industry fears, itbecame the Ministry forholding back clearances,”she said.

Ms. Sitharaman alsodrew comparisons betweenJairam Ramesh and Ms.Natarajan and said while theformer’s concerns were in-fluenced by concern for theenvironment, the latter ’sstalling of projects was basedon “other considerations”.

The BJP alleged that in thepast decade the MoEF hasnot been able to strike a bal-ance between environmentalprotection and steps requiredfor growth. “Why does theMinistry not come out withstipulations about norms;stipulations leave no scopefor interpretation. At a timewhen the Ministry was ex-pected to clear projects, Ms.Natarajan took it back to thelicence, quota raj,” the BJPspokesperson said.

The BJP leader saidthe Congress Party and theUPA government were prob-ably aware of the mountingapplications that were pend-ing with the Ministry and alsoof the cases where the fileshad been signed, but stillwithheld, which is perhapsthe reason why Ms.Natarajan was replaced.

BJP steps up... (From page 7)

Chairperson PBMC expresses gratitudePort Blair, Jan 13: Mr. K.Ganeshan, Chairperson, PortBlair, and Municipal Council(PBMC) on behalf of allmembers of the Council hasconveyed heartfelt thanksand gratitude to the peopleof these Islands and the Lt.Governor of Andaman andNicobar Islands, Lt. Gen.(Retd.) A.K. Singh, PVSM,AVSM, SM, VSM for thetremendous success of Civic

Reception hosted in honourof Shri Pranab Mukherjee,President, of India on 11/1/2014 at Netaji Stadium.

Mr. K Ganeshanhas also thanked the Mem-ber of Par liament,CINCAN, Chief SecretaryA &N Administration, DGPA&N Islands, Secretary,PBMC, Secretary Educa-tion, DC (SA),CE (APWD)all staff of PBMC, all staff

of Electricity departmentand Transport and TransportDepartment, Director YAS,all police personnel, De-fence personnel, Media per-sons, Doordarsan, Staff ofDistr ict Administration,South Andaman, school chil-dren who performed culturalprogramme, their parentsand teachers for giving theirbest for the success of CivicReception.