Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 20 March 2023
Mr. Keshav Chandra, IAS, Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Islands is on a three day visit to Little Andaman. He arrived at Little Andaman on 19th March 2023. On arrival at the Hutbay Helipad, the Chief Secretary was received by Tehsildar Hutbay, Mr. Gopal Chandra Mosid, ZP Member, Mr. Vasudevan Nair, Pradhans of Little Andaman, PRI Members and officials of different Departments. Soon after arrival, Chief Secretary visited Light House at Harminder Bay being maintained by Department of Light House & Light Ships. This Light House is 45 metres long, has a diameter of 20 meters and is one of the highest Light Houses in India. Ms. Pabitra Kr. Halder, Navigational Assistant of the Department informed the Chief Secretary that the Light House is fully operated through solar energy which covers 22 nautical miles and helps in navigation of vessels crossing Little Andaman. Thereafter, the Chief Secretary inspected the road from Hutbay Jetty to Harminder Bay and directed APWD to complete construction of the road work before the onset of monsoon.
Chief Secretary was received by the First Headman, Village Tribal Council, Harminder Bay, Mr. Andrew Moses at Community Hall, Harminder Bay. During the interaction with the Nicobarese Community, the Chief Secretary was informed that the Nicobarese were settled in Harminder Bay in the year 1973.
In his welcome address, the First Headman expressed his deep gratitude to the Chief Secretary for visiting Harminder Bay, an abode of the Nicobarese. He requested for construction of a Tribal Council Office in the village, construction of Mortuary Home/death house in graveyard area, maintenance of septic tank of permanent shelter in the village among others.
Addressing the Nicobarese Community, the Chief Secretary congratulated the children for according him a warm welcome with their traditional Nicobari dance and melodious welcome song. Responding to their demands, the Chief Secretary stated that he has already taken stock of the issues in Harminder Bay and informed them that the Administration is committed to fulfil all genuine demands of the Tribal Council. He further advised the Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman to make a detailed assessment of demands projected by Tribal leaders and work out action plans to fulfil their demands. The Chief Secretary praised the Nicobarese community for keeping their culture and lifestyle intact.
Thereafter, the Chief Secretary visited Electricity Sub-Station at Netaji Nagar which has an installed power generating capacity of 3MW. He interacted with Officials and Staff manning the Sub-Station. The Assistant Engineer, Electricity Department, Mr. R.N Roy informed that the installed capacity is capable to meet the peak demand of power. The Chief Secretary appreciated the effort of the officials and staff of the Sub-Station for providing 24x7power supply.
The Chief Secretary also visited White Surf Waterfall and the eco-tourism site at Kalapathar beach. He advised the Forest Dept. to create more basic amenities at the beach site which can be operated through PRIs by putting up pre-cooked food stalls and tender coconut stalls.
Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman, Ms Veditha Reddy, DFO, Mr. PK Paul, DFO, Mr. Dilip D’Souza, Director (Education), Mr. Aditya Kumar Jha, SE, CC-1/PBCC, APWD, Mr. Tej Bahadur, Tehsildar, Hutbay Mr. Gopal Chandra Mosid accompanied the Chief Secretary during his visit to different places in Hutbay.