It would be great to find out how much tourism has really contributed to local
employment and local economy vs. how much has been spent subsidising tourists
and tourism industry.

I was one of 12 passengers on a regular daily boat to Havelock a couple of
months ago - the Captain told me we consumed 300 litres of diesel on a one way
trip. Truly amazing.

I don't think money is a problem for the A&N administration, and no one expects
the A&N to contribute to the national economy, or even break even!

I think the protection of the environment of the A&N should be paramount, and if
the invaders are kept out, locals will automatically benefit.

Given my very limited experience, I feel that unless we completely change our
culture, approach to civic sense, respect for rules and regulations, etc.
overnight, it is not possible to do any activity in an almost virgin eco-system
without affecting it adversely.

Even a modern cruise ship with all controls fitted and operational
(self-contained floating island?) will cause some impact.

The solutions for the problems of the A&N lie elsewhere, not in tourism or
"eco-tourism".

What is happening to the Taj should give us some insight on how tourism
functions in this country, and how our heritage is actually protected.

Debi


----- Original Message -----
From: samit sawhny
To: andamanicobar@...
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2004 11:17 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Re: [andamanicobar] TOI Editorial on leasing islands for
tourism


To put some perspective on the ToI editorial:

1) Nowhere is there a complete island available on lease. The government owns
plots of land on these islands, sizes ranging from 2hectare to 16hectare plots.
1 such plot on each island. this is what is proposed to be leased out.

2) The islands mentioned are:
a) Havelock - already open for tourism and receiving tourists. the site
identified for lease is a coconut plantation.
b) Neil - already open for tourism and receiving tourists.
c) Little Andaman - already open for tourism and receiving tourists
d) South Andaman - already open for tourism and receiving tourists
e) Long ISland - already open for tourism and receiving backpackers. no resort
on the island at present though. the site identified for lease is a coconut
plantation.
f) Cinque - only proposed to be opened up for day visits. nothing leased out.
this is already the scenario - has been so for years
g) Interview - as with Cinque
h) North Passage - already open for tourism and receiving backpackers. no
resort on the island at present though. the site identified for lease is a
coconut plantation.
i) Rutland - this is 'new' to the list
j) Ross/Smith - has previously been open to tourists. closed because of
'backpacker infestation'. the party has since shifted to long island.

3) The ToI mentions that Ministry of Tourism has 'put forward a proposal..'
This is a periodic ritual - happens every few months - those of you who have
been associated with the andamans longer than 6 months will remember the last
such flurry of articles. In bureacratic parlance, 'put forward a porposal' means
that they have resubmitted the files. To the Cabinet. No decisions have been
taken as yet.

Hope the above info helps.



On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 tapas kumar chakraborty wrote :
>
>
>Dear Mr Hisham,
>
>Is it possible for you to inform us who are far away from Andamans on what
specific kind of damage opening of islands to tourists could cause. We are
willing to do some action if needed. But where should action start.
>
>If we cannot stop government from opening it, at least we could force it ,
through opinion building, to impose a code of conduct on the tourists, dos and
donts when they are in the islands.
>
>But how to get some idea about the islands. The basic information about them,
where eactly are they located and how fagile is the eco system prevailing in
there. How about talking on all these areas and develop an opinion pool before
sending them to our members and then to the government.
>The issue strangely has not made much newsheadlines. What about involving
journalists to pesuade them write on this? tapas
>On Sat, 02 Oct 2004 hisham wrote :
> >
> >dear friends,
> >it is very sad to note that our islands are opening for tourists. presently
4 islands are openened for limited tourism and one island is given to lease to a
big hotel chain in kerala.the islanders got jobs in private sector is less and
the promotion of liquor in tourist huts is a devastaion to the islanders
culture.but in the economical aspect some money may get ,but many will collect
shells and corals as souvenir to corals, and we fear it will damage our
ecosystem.we are interested in any action regarding this . please also involve
us in all activities.
> >expecting for more information
> >jafer hisham
> >for, Karakkad young chllengers club
> >Androth island
> >U.T. of lakshadweep
> >
> >
> >
> >Save turtles bcos they have the right to live .
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your life partneronline.
> >
> >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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