Port Blair, May 18: The Member of Parliament of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India to provide parallel internet connectivity through undersea OFC cable to A&N Islands from Puri in Odisha to Diglipur (North & Middle Andaman), Link Shaheed Dweep (Neil) Island in the planned 2nd OFC submarine link and to bring the high speed internet tariffs at par with mainland, by waiving-off the CANI segment charges for 5 to 10 years

In a letter addressed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, the Member of Parliament mentioned that the start of the CANI OFC system between Chennai and Port Blair started on 10th August, 2020 has brought a new era in the history of A&N Islands as it has facilitated seamless net connectivity in seven different Islands.

He added that during initial two years of COVID-19 pandemic only because of launching of High Speed internet, which was possible due to completion of Submarine Optical Fiber cable project, people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands could attend online offices and meetings and children could attend online classes.

Highlighting the crucial issue of providing parallel internet connectivity through undersea OFC cable to A&N Islands from Puri in Odisha to Diglipur (North & Middle Andaman), the Member of Parliament said that in addition to tourism development, the high bandwidth internet connectivity which the CANI network promises would hopefully usher in the arrival of a large pool of Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology enabled service (ITeS) investors into these Islands.

He added that this will surely cater to the employment requirement of thousands of local educated unemployed youths who migrate to mainland cities like Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore for IT and related jobs.

However, while the high bandwidth internet would be a core requirement for the IT & ITeS industry, the single CANI OFC network will not boost the investors’ sentiment in the absence of a parallel network as believed by industry veterans.

He added that aspiring industrialists in IT & ITeS sector are concerned over any sudden breakdown or failure of the existing CANI OFC network which will paralyze the IT & ITeS industries besides other digital services like e.banking, e.governance, e.trading, e.procurement, e.teaching etc.

He pointed out that even a single day of outage over breakdown of CANI OFC would prove costly for the industry as feared by the industry veterans. As such, additional connectivity would insulate the industry against temporary outages and connectivity failure.

Hence the Member of Parliament requested the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India to provide a parallel internet connectivity through undersea OFC cable to A&N Islands from Puri in Odisha to Diglipur (North & Middle Andaman) a shortest route in addition to the existing CANI OFC cable which will ensure uninterrupted connectivity even if the other grids has failed due to any an unforeseen reason.

Regarding linking Shaheed Dweep (Neil) Island in the planned 2nd OFC Submarine link, the Member of Parliament requested that while sanctioning 2nd OFC link to A&N Islands there is need to consider linking an important tourist destination i.e. Shaheed Deep (Neil) Island in the 2nd OFC submarine link which would cater to the overall development of the Island.

On the issue of bringing the high speed internet tariffs at par with mainland, by waiving-off the CANI segment charges, the Member of Parliament said that from the affordability point of view the tariffs for FTTH /Broadband connections in Andaman and Nicobar Islands are much higher than those offered in the mainland.

He added that the aim of CANI Cable was to bridge the telecom gap between mainland and the islands, technically the gap has been bridged by installing CAN cable, however financially for a common user the same is yet to be bridged primarily because the tariffs for FTTH/ Broadband connections are much higher than that offered in mainland. As per the TSPs, this is due to the CANI segment charges borne by them. This has become a bottleneck for important sectors like tourism to grow in A&N islands.

Hence, he requested the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India that the high speed internet tariffs may be brought at par with mainland, by waiving-off the CANI segment charges so that affordable telecom & ICT services can reach to all far-flung areas of these islands.

The Member of Parliament further pointed out that MHA through A&N Administration is already bearing the cost of CANI maintenance charges and hence he requested the PM to direct DOT to start the work of 2nd OFC submarine cable link to Andaman and Nicobar Islands from Puri, so that IT firms can set up their establishments in the Islands.

 

Port Blair, May 17: Considering the difficulty being faced by ATR commuters, Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Member of Parliament, A&N Islands has requested the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration to direct the NHIDCL officials to do needful to make the NH4 stretch of North Andaman motorable and ensure the safety of ATR Commuters.
The Member of Parliament also requested the Chief Secretary to provide ships for Diglipur twice a week till the NH4 is repaired and normalmovement vehicles are restored.
In the letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Member of Parliament mentioned that the condition of somestretches of Andaman Trunk Road are extremely bad due to earthwork followed by rain.
He mentioned that due to heavy rain some parts of Andaman Trunk Road after Kalara Junction have become extremely dangerous for vehicles and the entire area has become prone to accidents.

Port Blair, May 17: Mr. Vishal Jolly National Executive Member BJP and Former State President, BJP, A&N Islands and Home Ministry Advisory Committee, GoI has requested Chief Secretary, A&N Administration to repair the road from Bimblitan Shiv Mandir to Bimblitan Junction at NH-4 and Road from Garacharma Junction to NTS Junction Teylerabad.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Mr. Jolly mentioned that the elected PRIs of Gram Panchayat Sippighat and villagers raised the concern regarding the condition of the roads from Bimblitan Shiv Mandir to Bimblitan Junction at NH-4, and road from Garacharma Junction to NTS Junction Teylerabad. These roads are badly damaged and attained huge potholes along the stretch and the villagers and daily commuters are facing huge problems in transportation and livelihood, especially during the rainy season.
Further, he said that the matter was already taken up with APWD by the Pradhan Gram Panchayat Sippighat under the Construction Division No. 2 of APWD Prothrapur. It was reported that the estimate for construction of the road is prepared but it is pending due to the requirement of A/A & ES from the competent authority.
Accordingly, he requested the Chief Secretary to give necessary direction to the concerned authority for early restoration of the damaged road in the best interest and welfare of the villagers by considering the gravity of the situation and problems faced by the villagers during the rainy season.

Port Blair, May 17: Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Member of Parliament, Andaman & Nicobar Islands has deeply mourned the sad and untimely demise of Mr. Ravi Kandaswamy (Social worker) H/o Smti. Geeta Kandaswamy, age 58 years R/o Aberdeen Bazar, Port Blair who passed away at GB Pant Hospital in the afternoon of 17th May 2022. He prayed to the Almighty to give eternal peace to the departed soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss.

The Member of Parliament of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Administration to direct the responsible departments to send sufficient quantities of Petrol and Diesel to Teressa Island as soon as possible.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary the Member of Parliament mentioned that Teressa Island is facing a threat of complete blackout due to the severe crisis of Petrol and Diesel in the Island.
He added that due to the severe crisis of Petrol and Diesel the movement of vehicles and operation of DG set has also been restricted, which is causing hardship to the people of the Island.

Port Blair, Mar 10: The Andaman & Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee President Mr. Rangalal Halder has thanked the people of A&N Islands and Congress workers for supporting the party in the Municipal & Panchayat polls and termed them as fighters working to safeguard constitutional values in the country.
“A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you. Thank you to our workers and leaders for their dedication and untiring hard work in support of the party,” said Mr. Halder.
Mr. Halder also congratulated the winning candidates of Municipal and Panchayats for their good performance. He said that Congress has performed very well in this election across the Islands compared to the previous election. He also gave confidence to the Congress candidates who could not win this time.
Further, he expressed gratitude towards the Election Commission of India, Directorate of Panchayat& Municipal Election, A&N Police, officials from various government departments, and the media for putting in their hard work to make this day a memorable one.