Boat Tragedy: ANI Admn Still Digging up the Past
By Zubair Ahmed
When people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and tourism industry is
gradually recovering and trying to forget one of the worst tragedy that shocked
the country, and cope up with the loss it incurred, the Andaman and Nicobar
Administration seems to be in no mood to move on.
The ghost of the tourist boat tragedy that killed 22 lives seems to be
still haunting the Administration. And, to cover up the negligence on the part
of the Administration as the monitoring agency, it is still trying to point
fingers at media and wash away all sins it committed. The Administration is bent upon
crucifying the media, which could have become its eyes and ears.
Andaman Chronicle, which of late has been on the radar of the
Administration for obvious reasons, is being targeted for bringing to light
stories and asking inconvenient questions on different issues.
After a series of notices, eight to be specific and another series of examinations,
the latest is a three-page rejoinder from the Superintendent of Police, South
Andaman District, sent on 10th March and received by Speed Post on 22 March, alleging
misrepresentation of facts by Andaman Chronicle on boat capsizing incident.
The rejoinder alleges that the newspaper published several incorrect and
misleading information in the news items pertaining to the timing and cause of
the capsizing.
The news article published in Andaman Chronicle on the following day was
based on first-hand account of the eye witnesses who were interviewed by
Andaman Chronicle. The information received by the paper may be different and
distinct than the information received by ANI Police during investigation
because of time gap in recording of statements of witnesses.
It is further stated that the matter is under investigation and also a
magisterial enquiry has been ordered to enquire into the said incident. In view
of the fact that the issue is sub-judice, and the magisterial enquiry is going
on, it is uncalled for on the part of the Superintendent of Police to
communicate the findings of their investigation, which is neither complete nor
tested by judiciary in trial. An investigation is complete only when the charge
sheet is filed in the matter and after that the Court tests the evidences and
witnesses during trial. By sending a rejoinder to Andaman Chronicle, it appears
that the Police Dept is making an attempt to prejudice the investigation and
possibly subsequent trial by the Court by establishing that the investigation
carried out by Police Dept is unbiased and correct and it does not require any
sanction by the Court.
Andaman Chronicle had quoted one of the survivors, Mr Tyagarajan,
Kanchipuram and reported that the accident took place before 3.00 pm. It had
also quoted a few witnesses who said that the accident took place at about 2.45
pm. The dispute about the timing of the boat tragedy is still debatable.
Moreover, the paper had carried preliminary reports based on eye-witness
and survivor accounts. The same survivor giving a different version does not
prove that the report published by Andaman Chronicle was wrong.
It seems that when the house is on fire, the bride is concerned about
makeup. Primarily, it is a matter of shame rather than 'image' that 22 lives
were lost in the sea, that too hardly 300 mtrs from the Port Blair shore in a
time span of 20 minutes. The first rescue happened after 40 minutes of the
tragedy which itself says much about the level of preparedness.
Many more questions about the timing can be raised. What were the role
of the District Control Room and even State Control Room?
Andaman Chronicle had restrained itself and did not venture to report on
many aspects of the Safety Audit ordered by the Administrator. It would have
put the Administration in a fix, had it questioned the logic behind plying of
state-run boats soon after the tragedy without compliance. But, it would have
caused inconvenience to thousands of passengers.
The Administration in fact announced Safety Audit for both state-run and
private-owned boats soon after the tragedy. While the private boats were all
stopped to ply, the state-run boats were plying carrying thousands of
passengers even without completely complying with the safety guidelines. They
are still making provisions in the boats to equip with life-jackets and other
life saving equipments.
How many boats owned by the
Directorate of Shipping Services have all its documentation in order?
Interestingly, the rejoinder issued by the SP, South Andaman also
alleges that in the past, Andaman Chronicle has published sensational news
items on the Jarawa tribe without verifying facts and such incorrect and
malicious reporting has spread enormous confusion and damaged the image of the
Administration.
Andaman Chronicle has been publishing many news items on the Jarawa
tribe since its inception. The news reports
in the newspaper was and still is published based on facts and information
received after proper verification and conformation. As the issue is
sub-judice, it would not be prudent to comment on this issue.
However, if the Administration is still interested in the past, it will
open another can of worms, very difficult to shut. As the incumbent
Administrator has time and again mentioned that he is not interested in digging
the past, Andaman Chronicle refrained from publishing stories based on
photographic evidences from immediate past. There were instances of
choreographed dances made to perform by the
Jarawas for the entertainment of a chosen few. A crime committed
yesterday or today is a crime!
As a matter of fact, Andaman Chronicle does not like to tarnish the
image of the Administration in any way. However, the timing of the rejoinder
sent after two months of the accident raises suspicion about the intentions of
the Administration.
