Congress opposes Border Road Org in Andaman

Port Blair, Aug 7: The Congress party in Andaman has opposed the Centre's decision to award the construction and improvement of Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) to Border Road Organisation (BRO).

This decision would end the future of Andaman Public Works Department(APWD) and ultimately close the future employment opportunities for the young engineers and other youths of these islands, said the lone Member of Parliament of Andaman and Nicobar islands, Mr Manoranjan Bhakta.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was raised on May 7, 1960 for laying new roads in difficult border areas for economic development as well as for better defence preparedness. The organisation commenced its works in Andaman and Nicobar Island in 1971.

Bhakta told UNI that the estimated construction cost of one kilometer long road is approximately one crore by APWD whereas the same work is done in three crore by BRO.

The Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) was built in the 1980's to connect Port Blair with Mayabunder on Middle Andaman. The road is approximately 340 km long, and crosses South Andaman, Baratang and Middle Andaman islands.

Bhakta said awarding work to APWD would save a lot of public money and the decision is bound to cause frustration among the youth leading to unrest, which needs to be addressed well in advance.

Recently a letter has also been sent to the Prime Minister by the local Congress unit requesting to stop further process of awarding construction and repairing work to ATR.

This is an indirect way to encourage corruption in the public life, said Mr Sanjay Chowdhury, the General Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee in his letter written to the Prime Minister.

The ATR cuts through some of the finest tropical rainforests in the world and also rips through the traditional lands of the Jarawas.

The road has been news in recent months because of the presence of the Jarawa tribe. This tribe was considered hostile until recently, and buses and trucks plying on this road carry an armed guard.

This was to prevent Jarawa attacks on the tribe. In recent months, jarawas have started emerging from the forest onto the ATR, and are being fed both by the Administration and by passengers on the buses.

On the other hand, the ATR is seen as a vital lifeline allowing movement of both passengers and cargo between Port Blair and Mayabunder, and points north of Mayabunder.

At present, no alternative is seen to the road, and even though maintenance cost is Rs 15-20 crores a year (for less than 1000 passengers a day), the Andaman Administration does not see any alternative to keep the road running.

UNI