Andaman defies Supreme Court judgment on Jarawa

Port Blair, May 10 (UNI) The controversy over closure of Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) to save the Jarawa tribe from extinction still rages across the globe, while international groups have urged the administration to close down a part of the road permanently.

Survival International, a London-based organisation which works for tribals, had charged the Andaman administration with ignoring a Supreme Court order passed five years ago regarding the closure of some portion of a highway in the Andaman islands to save the Jarawa tribe of hunter-gatherers from extinction.

The ATR's 340-odd kms connect many islands extending from South to North Andaman. Jarawa activists claim that the 129 km long patch cutting through the Jarawa reserve forest of Middle Andaman is absolutely illegal.

Five years ago, the Apex court had ordered the closure of a part of the road virtually siding with critics who argued that it was undermining the lifestyle, customs and health of the endangered Jarawa tribe.

''It is extraordinary that the Indian government has completely ignored the Supreme Court's order for five years,'' said Survival International Director Stephen Corry.

He further said that this indicates either the absence of any real will to safeguard the Jarawa, or a complete failure to understand the seriousness of the situation in which the existence of the road had placed the tribe.

''The road must be closed now before it is too late,'' Corry said.

The Jarawas is one of four ancient Negroid tribes on the Andaman islands. Today, two of the four tribes in Andaman Islands are facing virtual extinction.

The road was opened in the seventies and people had grown used to it. Government servants, traders, tourists and the settlers, all of them depend on the road to a very large extent.

Local Administration of these remote islands feels that closing of ATR would mean trouble for lakhs of people in North and Middle Andaman.

''When there is a judgement from SC to close down some portions of ATR, we can not keep it open for ever. We think of the future of Jarawa tribe but at the same time we have to think of the common interest of people living in these islands,'' Chhering Targay the Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Administration said.

He added, ''Andaman and Nicobar Islands are not ignoring the SC Judgment but working on that decision to find out a solution to the problem.'' UNI SKR AA KK SS1301