Vikramaditya, Port Blair: Taking note of problems of the general public being faced while traveling in ships as well as ferry vessels and also during getting tickets, the Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman, Mr. Suneel Anchipaka today took a series of steps to improve the present system.
Earlier Andaman Sheekha Daily had highlighted some problems and grievances of the general public. Taking immediate action in this matter, the Deputy Commissioner today reviewed the present situation and held a number of meetings and also visited the ticket issuing counter of DSS with other senior officers.
Regarding the problems being faced by people of Little Andaman, the Deputy Commissioner today assured that to minimize the problems, the District Administration will deploy more staffs from revenue, health and police departments at various ports.
He said that during the last sailing of the ship to Hut Bay, the testing was carried till the last hours and hence there was delay in finalizing the list of passengers. The Deputy Commissioner said that these points have been noted and in future things will be better managed.
On the point of harassment being faced by ladies at Jetty while checking their names in the final list of passengers due to overcrowding of public, the Deputy Commissioner said that soon the confirmation will be given either in messages or the list will be shared in social media so that ladies can check their names without struggling in crowd. He said that the District Administration will also display the final list in more places to avoid overcrowding.
Regarding the problems being faced by tourists and public for getting tickets of Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, the Deputy Commissioner said that as the numbers of private ferries are less there is more dependency on government ferry vessels.
The DC said that compared to last year this year seating capacity in government ferry has been increased manifold while the numbers of private ferries have reduced which has overburdened government ferries.
He said that to deal with this issue from tomorrow frequency of government ferries will be increased for Shaheed Dweep as well as Swaraj Dweep and by November 13, two more private ferries are scheduled to start operation in Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep sectors.
According to Deputy Commissioners by December end three more private ferries will also start their services and hence the situation will be in control. “During a meeting with private ferry operators I have asked them to open online booking for tickets of private ferries in advance so that the people get assured about their tickets,” the Deputy Commissioner added.
The Deputy Commissioner said that the District Administration is well aware that during the month of December there will be heavy rush of tourists and hence from now necessary steps are being taken so that general public and tourists get tickets of ferries and ships without any trouble. News courtesy Andaman Sheekha
