Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 23 December 2025
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, Hon’ble Member of Parliament from the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has urged the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to urgently facilitate air transportation of day-old chicks to the Islands, citing serious livelihood concerns affecting the local poultry sector.
In a formal representation to the Union Civil Aviation Minister, K. Ram Mohan Naidu, the MP highlighted the acute difficulties faced by poultry farmers due to the absence of facilities for transporting live day-old chicks on the Chennai–Sri Vijaya Puram air route. More than 250 poultry farmers in the Islands depend entirely on regular supplies of chicks from Chennai for sustaining their livelihoods.
Given the geographical isolation of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the MP noted that air transport is the only viable and safe option for moving live chicks, as there is no alternative logistics. He recalled that when flights on this sector were operated under government management by Air India, adequate arrangements existed for transporting day-old chicks.
However, following the privatisation of Government Airlines, most carriers operating on the route including Indigo and Air India, no longer permit the carriage of live chicks, citing operational constraints. At present, only Akasa Air allows such transportation, but with a severely limited capacity of about 45 boxes—roughly 3,000 chicks—per flight. This falls far short of the minimum requirement of 150–200 boxes, or nearly 10,000 chicks per consignment, needed to sustain poultry farming in the Islands.
The resulting shortfall has led to a sharp decline in local egg production, severely impacting poultry farmers, particularly those involved in layer farming. The Islands are increasingly dependent on egg imports from the mainland, leading to higher prices, supply uncertainty, and mounting financial stress for farmers, many of whom are reportedly on the brink of shutting down operations.
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray has appealed to the Civil Aviation Ministry to direct all airlines operating on the Chennai–Sri Vijaya Puram sector to provide standardised facilities for transporting day-old chicks, as was done earlier, or to deploy dedicated flights equipped for this purpose. He emphasized that such measures would help revive local egg production, safeguard farmers’ livelihoods, generate employment, and promote self-reliance in the poultry sector.
The MP further underscored that ensuring a stable and affordable supply of essential food items like eggs is critical, particularly in the context of the Government of India’s push to boost tourism in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
