Friday, September 30, 2005
Andaman claims democracy thriving in post tsunami scenario
Port Blair, Sept 28: The Andaman and Nicobar administration is much relieved after the sucessful conduct of local bodies elections thriving in the tsunami-hit islands, located almost 1,200 km from mainland India.
''This is a big achievement and I believe that authorities of these islands have done a marvelous job by conducting peaceful elections for the Port Blair Municipal Council and Panchayats. This sends a signal of normalcy across the globe,'' Director of Andaman's Information and Tourism Department Kuldeep Singh Ganger said.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a strong earthquake and tsunami on 26th December, 2004. About 5,000 people had died or declared missing-believed-dead, while more than 40,000 were rendered homeless.
But even after a tragedy like the tsunami, the recently held elections to the local self-government showed a healthy mix of different political parties winning the polls.
According to an official spokesperson, 3,275 candidates contested for 666 gram panchayat constituencies, 65 posts of pradhans, 67 panchayat samiti members and 30 constituencies of zilla parishad.
The polling percentage was 52 with electronic machines being used for the first time in the municipal elections.
The elections were held all across the islands in the North, Middle and South Andamans upto Campbell Bay in the Great Nicobar Islands.
''Indira Point is the southern most point of the country in the Great Nicobar islands, which is only 163 kms away from the epicenter of the recent earthquake, i e the island of Sumatra in Indonesia and conducting elections in these islands is a commendable job,'' claimed Information and Publicity Director of Andaman.
Mr Ganger said life in this part of the country has returned to near normal after the disaster, though situated a fair distance from the rest of the country.
''The ethos for democracy is vibrant in these islands,'' he added.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are situated between the 92nd and 94th meridians of East longitude and 6th and 14th parallels of North latitude.
The islands chain contains 572 islands, islets and rocks, but only 36 islands are inhabited. The islands are located at a distance of about 1,255 km from Kolkata and about 1,190 km from Chennai.
''This is a big achievement and I believe that authorities of these islands have done a marvelous job by conducting peaceful elections for the Port Blair Municipal Council and Panchayats. This sends a signal of normalcy across the globe,'' Director of Andaman's Information and Tourism Department Kuldeep Singh Ganger said.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a strong earthquake and tsunami on 26th December, 2004. About 5,000 people had died or declared missing-believed-dead, while more than 40,000 were rendered homeless.
But even after a tragedy like the tsunami, the recently held elections to the local self-government showed a healthy mix of different political parties winning the polls.
According to an official spokesperson, 3,275 candidates contested for 666 gram panchayat constituencies, 65 posts of pradhans, 67 panchayat samiti members and 30 constituencies of zilla parishad.
The polling percentage was 52 with electronic machines being used for the first time in the municipal elections.
The elections were held all across the islands in the North, Middle and South Andamans upto Campbell Bay in the Great Nicobar Islands.
''Indira Point is the southern most point of the country in the Great Nicobar islands, which is only 163 kms away from the epicenter of the recent earthquake, i e the island of Sumatra in Indonesia and conducting elections in these islands is a commendable job,'' claimed Information and Publicity Director of Andaman.
Mr Ganger said life in this part of the country has returned to near normal after the disaster, though situated a fair distance from the rest of the country.
''The ethos for democracy is vibrant in these islands,'' he added.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are situated between the 92nd and 94th meridians of East longitude and 6th and 14th parallels of North latitude.
The islands chain contains 572 islands, islets and rocks, but only 36 islands are inhabited. The islands are located at a distance of about 1,255 km from Kolkata and about 1,190 km from Chennai.
