THELIGHTOFANDAMANS: Andaman Admn Closes ATR for Tourists

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Andaman Admn Closes ATR for Tourists

Andaman Admn Closes ATR for Tourists

The Andaman and Nicobar Admn abiding by the Supreme Court direction have issued a notice closing the Andaman Trunk Road for tourist traffic. The notice said that the direction of SC will be implemented in both letter and spirit. It also warned the tour operators not to take any tourist through the road or to face legal action as per the law.

The Special Leave Petition relating to the matter of Buffer Zone came up for hearing before the Supreme Court on 21 Jan 2013. The revised Buffer Zone Notification issued by the A&N Admn dated 17.01.2013, excluding the settlement villages from 5 km. radius of Buffer Zone was taken on record by Supreme Court. After hearing the submissions made on behalf of the A&N Administration by Shri Paras Kuhad, Addl. Solicitor General of India and other Senior Lawyers, the Hon’ble Court directed that the Andaman Trunk Road could be used by the people residing in the settlement villages, Govt. Officials and other bonafide road users including those who transport goods and services to the settlement villages in the North and Middle Andaman District.

However, Hon’ble Court directed that till the next date of hearing, no tourists should use the Andaman Trunk Road. The Hon’ble Court has posted the matter for further hearing on 26th February, 2013. The formal order of Hon’ble Court is awaited.

The Admn is issuing guidelines to the Govt. Departments concerned separately. The Admn has advised all tourists to abide by the court directions.

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About The Light of Andamans

The Light of Andamans’ was born out of the zeal and determination to fight against the suffocating Kafkaesque atmosphere on the society that existed even after 30 years of Independence under bureaucratic rule. It was a hangover of the ‘Raj’that extended much too long in the Islands.

The Light of Andamans’ was started in 1975. The paper had always been a crusader, taking up the causes that no other newspaper would touch. In doing so, it very often stepped on the toes of the authorities and had to face persecution in the form of denial of advertisements and numerous court cases against it. For a small stint, the publication came to a halt in 2003.

Gezira Publications Private Limited took over the paper in the year 2005 and transferred the title in a bid to revive the second oldest newsmagazine from extinction and also to carry forward the mission.

The Newsmagazine, under the new management, has undergone a sea change both in form and content. It turned into a full-fledged tabloid with 10 pages with plenty of photographs making both pleasing to the eyes and soothing for the mind. “It has acquired a position where it influences the policies in vital matters concerning the development of the islands, protection of aboriginal tribes and addressing the problems of the disadvantaged groups. The newsmagazine is known and appreciated for its bold, free, fair and balanced reporting.”

Late Govinda Raju and his team worked very hard to rebuild the reputation, goodwill and a healthy new image of the newsmagazine brick by brick. After the demise of Mr Raju in 2010, the magazine is now being edited by Zubair Ahmed and published by Basudev Dass. The newsmagazine continues its mission of highlighting policy issues pertaining to the Islands.