From The Andaman Express
28/05/04
PRI Members Bent Upon Keeping The ATR open

Port Blair, May 27:
The two day seminar to draw a policy on the Jarawa commenced today. The
welcome address on the occasion was delivered by the Secretary Tribal
Welfare, Mr. RP Pal followed by the key note address by Mr. S Chatterjee,.
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India.
In today's seminar, the morning session was completely shadowed by the PRI
members, each one trying their best to perform on stage. The common issue
dealt by the PRI members was ATR. All the members were of the opinion that
ATR should not be closed as it is the lifeline of the people. The manner in
which the matter was dealt with appeared to be a well-planned and
pre-prepared version especially for the seminar.
Most of the PRI members, though demanded opening of ATR, failed to support
their demand. While talking about non-closure of the road, the members
admitted that it is the outsiders who are responsible for spreading deadly
diseases and addiction among the tribe. Some of them even complained that
the Jarawa steal gold ornaments from the houses in the villages attached to
the reserve. It was further mentioned that the Jarawa is now into begging
and prefer to come out of the jungle, their original habitat. The Jarawa
demand for Vada (south Indian delicacy) instead of bananas and coconut
(introduced by the Administration's contact mission).
The highlight of today's session was the point raised by Mr. GC Khattar,
Chief Engineer, APWD, in which he argued that the closure of the ATR would
badly affect LPG distribution in the northern islands. His opinion on ATR
was widely protested by most present on the occasion. Among the PRI members
who spoke were Mr. Kurma Rao, Up Adhyaksha Zilla Parishad, Mr. RK Sharma ZP
members and others.
In the afternoon session, multimedia presentations on the area of Jarawa
reserve, ATR, plantation by outsiders etc were made by the delegates and the
officers of the local administration.


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