Andaman & Nicobar Islands News
2007
Subsidised Tourism Worsens Andamans' Woes
by Pankaj Sekhsaria
28 November 2007
Tourism, promoted as a major economic activity and employment generator in India's far-flung Andaman Islands, has run into opposition lately. Concerns are being raised, ironically, by local residents and tour operators who are supposed to be the prime beneficiaries.
A chain of about 550 islands in the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago is clothed in thick rainforests and home to excellent beaches and coral reefs. Traditionally, agriculture, forestry and government jobs have been the mainstay for the people of this centrally-administered territory that is closer to Thailand, Burma and Indonesia than the Indian mainland.
But increased awareness of the need to protect forests, dwindling agricultural returns and a continued growth in the population, now at 356,000, has led the government to promote tourism as one of the key areas for economic growth and employment on the islands. Going solely by the number of tourists who arrive on the islands, the government's much touted 'Vitamin Sea' plan to revive the local economy has been a success and the islands are now rated as a top tourist destination. An estimated 100,000 visitors came to the islands in 2006 and the figure is expected to cross 150,000 this year.
While this might sound like a welcome trend, the fact that the bulk of the visitors are low-spending domestic t(i.e. Indian) ourists is a matter of some consternation. A large proportion of the people disgorged by the ten heavily subsidised daily flights that link Port Blair to the mainland, are actually central government employees availing themselves of 'leave travel concession' and disparagingly referred to as 'LTC tourists.' Increasingly, people in Port Blair are beginning to ask whether the government's policy of promoting tourism to the islands using its own employees is enough to boost an economy ailing badly since the devastation brought on by the 26 December 2004 tsunami. The islands lie barely 150 km away from the badly-hit Aceh province on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.
Such is the resentment against the government policy that World Tourism Day, on 27 September 2007, saw local tour operators and agencies come out on the streets of Port Blair in protest. Members of the Andaman Chamber of Commerce and Industries point out that the LTC tourists visiting the islands not only spend little money but, through bulk bookings offered by travel agents, use up the scarce resources and facilities and crowd out genuine up-market tourists.
In an article published in a local newspaper, green campaigner Samir Acharya of the Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology, wrote: "Tourism, instead of bringing a boon to the islands, has actually brought a curse on the islanders…The only contribution (of LTC tourists) to the islands is bringing scarcity of water, inter-island boat tickets, island-mainland ship tickets and even air-tickets for the localities. What makes it worse and intolerable is that it is totally state-funded." Acharya is among those who have been demanding a comprehensive and sustainable post-tsunami rehabilitation plan for the Andamans. In 2005, post-tsunami, fewer than 50,000 visitors came to the island, further hurting an economy already grappling with massive damage to infrastructure.
It was then that the central government extended its LTC programme to a section of its employees, even allowing them free air travel if they chose to visit the islands on a holiday.
The LTC tourists have sorely strained the resources on the islands. The summer of 2007 saw unprecedented water cuts for residents, with parts of Port Blair receiving water only once in five days, and that too for only a couple of hours. "Due to curtailment of water supply by municipal council," said a notice put up in the state-run Hotel Megapode in Port Blair at the height of the monsoon season in September, "all guests are requested not to waste water and not to wash clothes. Water supply timing: Morning 6 am to 10 am. Evening: 6 pm to 10 pm."
"LTC tourists," says Zubair Ahmed, a journalist working with the local weekly 'The Light of Andamans', "are always welcome, if they know in advance what to expect in the islands.'' ''LTC tourism is helping the unorganised sector to earn something, but the organised sector is up in arms against it because they are losing their clientele." Sanjay Ray, a resort owner and an elected representative on Havelock Island, agrees. "No benefit comes to us from the Indian tourists and 80 percent of our benefit comes from foreigners."
Not everyone disagrees with government policy. New Delhi-based tourism expert and researcher Nina Rao told IPS: "I am surprised at this campaign (World Tourism Day protests). We have always felt that every one has a right to be a tourist, and this is a democratic right." However, she agreed that tourism should have carrying capacity limits. "Today, it is established that the 800-plus million tourists (around the world) are a serious cause of global warming and this affects island people the most."
While more domestic tourists are being solicited, little attention has been paid to basic details such as carrying capacity, infrastructure, waste management or the impact on sensitive ecosystems like coral reefs. Officials admit privately that the move to boost tourism via the LTC route in the aftermath of the tsunami is backfiring. Evidence of this lies in the fact that the administration recently refused permission to the Indian Railways (the world's largest employer with 1.6 million workers on its payroll ) to include the islands as part of its LTC schemes.
As for dollar-tourism, the government is wary of allowing foreigners free access to the strategically located islands that have on them a full-fledged air force station and a naval base, rebuilt after the tsunami. Of the 3,513 people who died in that massive natural disaster, 116 were serving men or members of their families. However, with the Thai resort island of Phuket, which boasts of a million tourist arrivals annually, just 500 km away, and the growing need to build a sustainable economy for the local people, pressure is building to convert the Andamans into another tropical island paradise.
Whether that works out or no,t it is now certain that domestic tourism in the Andamans appears to have become a classic case of a remedy being worse than the problem it was meant to address.
Immortalising vanishing tribes: collecting genetic data
by Pallava Bagla
26 October 2007
Indian scientists have been trying to preserve the genetic lines of the country's fast vanishing ethnic tribes in the hope that even if the tribes get wiped out, their unique genetic material could still be available as human heritage to search for medical cures.
But the scientists seem to have hit a real roadblock and are unable to get blood samples from the hunter-gatherer tribes of the Andaman islands. India is home to over 500 tribes, of which 70 are classed as primitive. But none of them are as endangered as the Jarawas, the Onges and the Sentinelese, known to be the world's oldest inhabitants after humans migrated from Africa.
In the Andaman islands, the Jarawas number only 200, living north of Port Blair. The Onges are down to double digit figures and the Sentinelese, who resist any contact with outsiders, are believed to number only 250.
These tribes could soon be extinct as their homes are slowly being encroached upon by today's civilization. But modern day biology has a way of immortalising them. Dr Lalji Singh, who pioneered DNA finger printing in India, and helped crack the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case wants to save this unique human heritage.
His laboratory has blood samples of over 100 tribes and 11,000 individuals preserved for posterity. He wants access to the vanishing tribes to collect their blood samples but red tape is holding him back."We are desperately trying through the Government of India to get permission to collect the blood samples in such a manner that the day we collect the sample we arrange its transportation by air to CCMB where we have fully established procedures to develop transformed cell lines.
"Since last two years we are waiting for permission from the government and have the money sanctioned for making the film, but have not got permission from local authorities to collect blood samples,'' said Dr Lalji Singh, Director, Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology.
In mainland India where tribes have faced a similar fate science has come to their rescue. By collecting blood samples and processing them scientists have created immortal cell lines. Even if the tribals get extinct, at least their hereditary material is safe.
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For and against DNA sampling: Setting off the debate: Madhusree Mukherjee, lopchu@att.net I can't be the only one who finds the tone of this piece (the text immediately above) extraordinarily offensive. In what sense does an immortal cell line come to the rescue of a tribe? Is that all there is to a people and their extraordinary complexity? Can any sane person imagine that a bunch of cells in a petri dish even remotely approximates a human being, let alone an entire tribe and its culture? And what about the individuals, their lives, their loves, their dreams, their futures? We take away their land, their means of survival, we kill them off and appropriate their genetic information for our use... and call that a rescue? I never thought I'd say this, but thank heavens for the red tape that keeps Lalji Singh from rescuing the Andamanese. For sampling: Rauf Ali, raufie05@yahoo.co.in Lets be clear about one thing. Andaman tribals are going extinct not because the ASI has set up a lab to study their DNA, but because of the refusal of the A & N Administration to follow their own guidelines. A little DNA sampling from some museum is not going to make any difference of the survival or otherwise, of these tribals. And I, for one, would be fascinated by any light shed on where these people originated from. ASI is to be commended and not slandered for making this effort. In despair. PS You can start flaming me now. Zubair, zubairpbl@gmail.com I agree with Mr Rauf on this one. Who said that tribes will be killed to extract blood sample from them? It is going to open a new world of scientific and anthropological study. Can anyone shed light on how the DNA study will make the tribals extinct? Narayan, sio@and.nic.in I am not ASI man myself but criticism of ASI in this matter seems to be point less. Can anyone dare to say that ASI has powers to protect the tribes over and above the Government? We need to understand roles played by each agency. Lima Rosalind, lrosalind@gmail.com I agree with Rauf too. I too would be delighted if any one can throw some light on the antecedents of this tribe. ASI has been trying for years to get this underway and I am glad its finally in place. Against sampling: Ashish Fernandes, ashish.fernandes@gmail.com Couldn't agree more. It seems Lalji and CCMB has a tendency to go after these outlandish schemes, whether for funding or publicity or other reasons, I remember the cheetah cloning project that hit the headlines some years ago, no idea at what stage that is now... neither the Andamanese nor the cheetah would be better off, as long as the forces that destroyed and are destroying their habitat are checked... the millions these projects would cost would be better poured into protection! Vishvajit Pandya, pandyav@yahoo.com I too feel that the so-called biological Science wallas are quite pretentious. Lalji and his group has had the samples already worked upon along with a bunch of others who have added to the genetic knowledge. Often the samples have been collected in a dubious manner, not to forget being stolen from museums. And of course, now Anthropological Survey of India has its own setup to work with genetic material right in Port Blair. I think that the Administration has taken a right step by not letting things just push the agenda of certain kinds of science. In fact, what and how have they been proactive in relating to the problems of the A&N tribes, beyond doing sample and data collection? Has the knowledge increased for all? Has it contributed to the policies? Santosh Sahoo, chimalayas@yahoo.com To protect Andamanese requires first to protect and preserve their living land, to respect their living culture, lifestyle and more importantly their indigenous identity. I do not think any precise molecular biological analysis of the cells of the Andamanese can help in protecting them from the threats of modernisation and cultural invasion. Sushil Joshi, sushilj@sancharnet.in Madushree Mukherji has raised the only correct issue involved. One surely wants to know how does genetic code save a tribe? Till now tribes were thought of as museum specimens. With the advent of genome they are being reduced to sequence of bases in some lab. The genome research may be useful from anthroplogical point of view in tracing the movements of people but let us not think that this is tool to save the tribes. Neil Tangri, ntangri@essential.org I agree. What's particularly pathetic is that the reporters apparently didn't bother switching on their critical thinking, simply reporting the hype as news. I am also suspicious of the ASI genetic lab recently reported. Are these genes going to be collected, patented and sold to some multinational when they turn out to have a commercially viable health benefit? Shankar Narayanan, shankar_blume@yahoo.de I was furious to read that a advanced DNA lab has been established by ASI, and then that CCMB is looking for blood samples of the hunter gatherer tribes of Andaman to save the genetic lineage of these adivasi communities even if they are destroyed! Really good to read your mail and those of others who also feel indignant about all this politics of hightech science. All this once again brings up the question, to defend the remaining hunter gatherer communities and to stop genocide and destruction globally dont we have to confront civilisation as such with all its toxic ideology ? Lavkumar Khachar, lavkumarkhachar@yahoo.com Can there be anything more vicious than a group of scientists wanting to examine blood of tribes to "save them from extinction"? Had they been suffering from some mysterious ailments this might have been order, but this? It is a cruel joke. The question is, what can be done other than expressing our anger on the 'net? |
Early Tsunami Warning System is set up
by Pankaj Sekhsaria
15 October 2007
A Tsunami early-warning system has been set up for monitoring both the east and the west coasts of the Indian subcontinent.. The systems consists of real-time networks of seismic stations, bottom pressure gauges and tidal gauges that can detect all earthquakes of magnitude six or more and can also raise an automatic alarm if a tsunami has been caused. Tide gauges report on the progress, size, speed and direction of the tsunami and alarms the coastal areas calculated to be affected by the tsunami.
A large database of model scenarios for earthquakes of different strength, depth, intensity and location is available used for operational tsunami early warnings.
Availability of real-time data from measuring stations to the early warning centre is essential for timely tsunami warnings. A high level of redundancy is must be built into the system ystem to avoid gaps. A state-of-the-art early warning centre enables reception of real-time data from all the sensors, analysis of the data, generation and dissemination of tsunami advisories following a standard operating procedure. Seismic and sea-level data are continuously monitored in the Early Warning Centre using a custom-built software application generating alarms whenever a pre-set threshold is crossed.
Tsunami warnings watches are then generated based on pre-set decision support rules and disseminated to the concerned authorities for action, following a Standard Operating Procedure.
The efficiency of the was proved for the first time during the large undersea earthquake of 8.4 magnitude that occurred on 12 September 2007 in the Indian Ocean.
The network enables the early warning centre to disseminate warnings to the State Emergency Operations Centres and other government agencies. The National Early Warning Centre is equipped with necessary facilities to disseminate the advisories directly to the administrators, media and public through SMS, e-mail and fax.
Is the Andaman Tourism Plan backfiring?
by Pankaj Sekhsaria
9 September 2007
A flood of low-budget tourists since the 2004 tsunami are hurting India's ecologically fragile Andaman and Nicobar islands, and ruining plans to make it a top global destination, industry officials said.
It has drained scarce resources such as water, sparked excessive demand for airline tickets, hit hotel revenues and created a service culture which is insensitive to the needs of wealthier travellers, they said.The problem, officials said, is a decision to allow all levels of government and state-run firms' workers to use their paid family and home leave travel allowances, awarded every two years, to fly to the Andamans. That means low wage state workers were visiting - taking up the chance to fly for the first time and visit the far-off islands - with trips previously restricted to senior level state employees.
The islands, known for their sparkling beaches, tropical forests, coral reefs, tribal cultures and emerald Indian Ocean waters, are 1,200 km (750 miles) from the mainland of India, and are closer to southeast Asia than India.
However, a move to exploit this to attract more visitors and boost an economy badly hit by the tsunami, has backfired as it has overburdened the isles without raising earnings correspondingly, tourism officials said. "For these tourists, the destination does not matter. They come because they get to fly for the first time in their lives," said Mohamed H. Jadwet, head of the Andaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "We also pushed for this after the tsunami but we never thought it would come to this."
A dreaded penal territory during British colonial rule, the islands have for long been a destination cloaked in mystery. Tourism, farming and fishing are the main sources of income for the islands, which can be reached only by air or a three-day ship journey from the mainland.
The tsunami hit the isles badly, killing about 3,500 people, and displacing 40,000. It also hurt tourism, with the number of visitors in 2005 plummeting to 32,000 from an annual average of 100,000. But the government move saw tourist visitors surge to over 125,000 in 2006 and it is expected to cross 150,000 in 2007, officials said.
Capacity trampled
The influx, however, has not brought an increase in revenues ,as an estimated 80 percent of the visitors are low-wage state workers. They are drawn by travel firms on the mainland known to corner cheap airline tickets and offer them to state employees who get full fare leave travel allowance, allowing them to pocket the difference, tourism industry officials said. "These people will not spend more than 500 rupees ($12) per day on rooms, food and sight-seeing, " said G. Bhasker, who owns a middle-level hotel and runs a travel firm in Port Blair, the quaint capital of the archipelago."We are not against any strata of society coming here but we also have to see what it is doing to the island's resources and the industry," he said.
Foreign visitors, often the most high-paying of visitors to India, are few and far between. The Andamans have faced a severe water shortage this year and the rising number of tourists meant that Port Blair got 30 minutes of tap water supply once every five days this summer, residents and activists said.
Garbage disposal has become a huge problem as the sprawling town has no modern waste management system. While an airline boom has seen fares fall, they remain artificially high for Port Blair, preventing island residents from flying - putting off regular tourists. "We have limited tourism carrying capacity due to limited resources and that has been overstretched, " said Samir Acharya, of the Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology.
"Now the Andamans are badmouthed so much that genuine tourists don't want to come," he said.
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Last change 29 November 2007