Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 05 April 2023
Pradhans of all three Gram Panchayats of Great Nicobar Island have recently notified the Secretary, RD & PRIs, that they, along with the general public of their respective Panchayats, would go on protest if three Junior Engineers and one Assistant Engineer are not posted at Campbell Bay within ten days.
PRI Members of Great Nicobar Island have been requesting the posting of an adequate number of Engineering Staff for the smooth execution of developmental works since the start of their tenure. It has been over one year, but the department has yet to be able to post adequate Engineering Staff to Great Nicobar Island.
PRI Members have written multiple letters to the authorities and have also met them on different occasions, but apart from assurance and temporary solutions, their demand for posting at least three JEs and one AE has not been fulfilled.
According to Pradhans, the general public has started questioning and pressuring them as they cannot do developmental work due to the non-availability of Engineering Staff.
Mr. Prahlad Singh, Pradhan, GP Laxmi Nagar, Mr. G Venkat Rao, Pradhan, GP Govind Nagar and Mrs. Rameshwari, Pradhan, GP Campbell Bay also wrote a joint letter to Secretary (RD, PRIs & ULBs) on 21st March 2023, but they did not receive any response.
The Pradhans said they would soon stage a protest with the general public at Great Nicobar.