Registered: Not Yet
Location:
Posts: N/A

Tropical paradise islands are worst affected

By Amberish K. Diwanji in Indraprasth
Rediff
December 28, 2004 at 1:53 a.m.IST

The current loss of lives in the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands currently stands at 3,000 and rising (it might
well go up to 4,000). To understand what this means:
imagine a quake across India that completely swallows
both Bangalore and Hyderabad.

When we say 3,000 people in the A&N Islands, it amounts
to around 9% of the islands' population (estimated at
307,000, in the 2001 census it was 356,000; Bangalore and
Hyderabad today boast populations of 4.5 million each,
which works out to nine million combined and thus 9% of
India's one billion plus).

On a proportionate basis, the loss of lives in the
islands must surely rank as one of the worst disasters
ever in India, perhaps in the world.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are not always on the
consciousness of the average Indian. Far away, they give
the impression of a Shangri-la, a Camelot, a tropical
paradise of sun, sand, and sea. In fact, if remembered,
it is more for its historical role, when it served as a
prison for those involved in the freedom struggle.

And if news from the islands does come in, it is usually
linked to defence: this archipelago comprises some 350
islands: seven major islands and some so small that
regular maps can't even depict them. The A&N Islands are
considered southern India's first line of defence, and
increasingly, as a place for the navy to keep watch over
the key sea routes linking Southeast Asia and West Asia.

The islands can also boast of hosting India's first
attempt to integrate the three armed forces. The Tri-
services Command is headquartered at Port Blair, under
the overall command of the Indian Navy.

Armed forces lead relief efforts

Port Blair, the largest town and port, is the capital of
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which as a Union
territory is directly administered by New Delhi. It is
also a major naval base.

The islands are incidentally closer to Indonesia than to
India and the southernmost tip, now known as Indira
Point, is just eight degrees north of the equator. The
quake's epicentre was just 107 kilometres away from
Campbell Bay (which adjoins Indira Point).

Not surprisingly, when the earthquake struck with its
epicentre just off the island of Sumatra, Indonesia,
these islands were literally the first in the line of the
tsunamis. Besides causing death and damage that is still
to be assessed, the tsunamis cut off lines of
communication. Hence, the final death toll is yet to be
known.

IA evacuates tourists from Andaman & Nicobar Islands The
navy is setting up portable communicating equipment so
that the marooned and cut-off islands can re-establish
contact with Port Blair.

"With so many islands, it will be quite some time before
the final figures come in, and obviously, at present the
primary effort is in providing relief and rehabilitation
and picking up all the survivors that can be found," said
a source in the armed forces.

Ships and helicopters of the Indian Navy are on
reconnaissance missions around the islands to pick up
survivors or any person lost at sea, besides providing
desperately needed relief material in the form of
drinking water, food, medicines, and clothes.

When the tsunamis struck the islands, the naval ships in
Port Blair harbour escaped damage. "Immediately after the
first tsunami, we put all the ships out at sea," said an
armed forces officer. [At sea, ships can ride tsunamis;
it is near land that tsunamis crash on to them, causing
damage.]

Two Indian Navy ships and a tanker have begun a shuttle
service carrying relief material between Visakapatnam and
Port Blair. Furthermore, two merchant ships of Shipping
Corporation of India have also been pressed into service
to carry relief material to the islands.

Further, four ships and a Landing Ship Tank-Large (a
naval ship that can carry tanks), the INS Gharial, have
been pressed into relief operations for Car Nicobar
Island, one of the worst affected islands. The ships are
carrying 20 tonnes of relief material, including cables
to repair the communications network.

The Indian Air Force and the army brigade stationed at
Port Blair are also being pressed into service across
this littoral territory.

Car Nicobar has an airbase, which suffered some damage.
"But the airstrip that was damaged has been made
operational," the officer said.

The IAF is flying three AN-32 and an IL-76 aircraft from
Tambaran, Tamil Nadu, to the Carnic (Car Nicobar) airbase
with relief material. "Also, two AN-32 are shuttling
between Port Blair and Carnic, carrying provisions," the
officer said adding that two Avro aircraft had ferried
supplies from Baroda to Tambaran, from where they would
be shipped to Port Blair.

The officer added that the many jetties dotting the
various islands too had been damaged. "Troops are engaged
in fixing the jetties," he said.

More at:
http://www.rediff.com

Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
Om Shanti

Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust

Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org

The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate

The terrorist mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible:

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not so send
peace, but a sword.
"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in
law.
"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
- Matthew 10:34-36.

o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged