Union Minister of State for Home to visit Andaman tomorrow

Port Blair, Feb 21 (UNI) Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has announced to send the Union Minister of State for Home here tomorrow to look into the matter of handing over the Andaman Trunk Road back to the Andaman PWD from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

General Secretary of the Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee Sanjay Choudhury told UNI today, ''Mr Patil yesterday spoke to Andaman MP Manoranjan Bhakta over phone and decided to sent the Union Minister of State for Home here tomorrow to look into the matter.'' Meanwhile, the Andaman unit of the Congress objected to the local administration not allowing the party supporters of other remote areas to meet the agitating MP, who was presently on an indefinite hunger strike.

The party alleged that it was a conspiracy of the local administration to make the hunger strike a complete failure.

The Andaman unit of the BJP had already termed the move of the Congress MP as a ''political drama''.

Out of the charter of 112 demands, placed by the 66-year-old MP, relating to various problems faced by the islanders, the major issues were setting up an Assembly for these remote islands and handing over the Andaman Trunk Road back to the Andaman PWD from Border Roads Organisation (BRO). All the demands had been placed before the Centre and the local administration.

The other important demands included constitution of an autonomous tribal council, regularisation of all encroachment cases of various categories, introduction of separate administrative and technical cadre for staff of PRIs.

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