One Step Closer To Cashless Nicobar

 (written by : Shekhar rai, Extension officer, Car Nicobar)

As part of the campaign of the Nicobar District Administration to make Nicobar Cashless, the first POS machine was installed at AC Enterprises, HQ area, Car Nicobar in january 2017. As per the Proprietor Mr. Ganesh, transactions amounting to one lakh rupees have already been done since the installation. At present, on an average, 35 to 40 transactions take place on a daily basis through the machine.

            In addition to the POS machine, Mr. Ganesh has also set up a PayTM QR code for the customers willing to go for mobile internet based PayTM wallet transactions. On enquiry upon the popularity of online transactions, it was informed that due to intermittent mobile connectivity in the islands, people are more inclined towards POS machines rather than PayTM.

    Drawing inspiration from the business strategies of Mr. Ganesh, more merchants have come forward for installation of these machines and accordingly, have placed their requests with the State Bank of India, Car Nicobar. It is expected that by the end of the current Financial Year, majority of the shopkeepers and merchants of Car Nicobar will possess the POS machines which will truly benefit the people of the island.

A Journey To The Country's Southern Most Tip - Indira Point

(written by : Dr. Mohd Rehan Raza, Assistant Commissioner, Campbell Bay)

The Assistant Commissioner (Campbell bay), Dr Mohd Rehan Raza along with Commandant Coast Guard, Sh. Prem Kumar and their teams started the  ardous & challenging  journey to reach Indira point  from the breakwater Jetty, Campbell bay on board Indian Coast Guard ship Charlie class 414 at 7.40 am in morning on 5 march .After a journey of 1 hr travelling at 20-25 knots of  speed ; we reached the MATA TARUA BAY ; a SAFE LANDING SITE  .In the Mid sea we changed and hopped from the big boat to the small boats and Gemini ; moved for 10 mins. on small boat and then  landed on the western side of the Indira point as the sea is calm there  . The adventurous journey began on foot on the shores on sands at 10.15 am  Adjacent to the Bay of Bengal . After walking for approximately 1hr 40 mins  approximately 6.5 KMs we reached the Southernmost tip of the India ie. the famed Indira Point at 11:55 am where we also saw the Southernmost Lighthouse of India . we also became witness to the might of the open sea .  We offered floral tributes and our respect to the tall statue of late smti Indira Gandhi ji . We took pictures of the serene beauty surrounding Indira point . Jubilant all, a sense of pride and happiness was there on all the faces . Finally we all made it. 
This is the first time any officers from  administration has reached Indira point through this Sea route which is very challenging as the trekking requires total ,13 kms approx  of walking on sands that is 1.40 hrs for one side . It's physically very demanding and tests the endurance and stamina to the core. One has to be energetic and regularly  hydrated and get adapted to scorching Sun. This area was totally ravaged by the Tsunami of 2004 . Everything was wiped out and destroyed. Presently 2 Wells are there which can act as a source of water .

AC campbell bay, Dr. Rehan Raza and Commandant Coast Guard, Sh. Prem kumar and their men

Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi's statue can be seen in the back ground

The distt administration is keenly watching all these areas as it's strategically very important .The administration is pursuing  serious efforts to get developed  a land route ( road ) being constructed by GREF by extending the existing Shastri Nagar road from 35 kms to the Galathea river through an over bridge which will be finished in few yrs from now . The total length of road is estimated to be 56 kms approx .from the zero point Campbell Bay to Indira point .  when this road starts functioning it will cater to all the tourists to this most sought after place ; the southernmost tip of India; the Indira point. The present light house is being painted now (it's the southernmost light house) of India.
This place has huge tourism potential and it can be the  biggest attraction of tourists to Andaman &  Nicobar islands : a game changer. Presently no human settlement is here and this area  comes under the forest department jurisdiction .

This whole inspection Cum tour was organized by O/o A.C Campbell Bay with the support provided by Indian Coast Guard CGDHQ 10 and forest deptt ( A& NI)
The district administration is leaving no stones un turned in reaching the hitherto untouched areas as development and progress of the islands is the vision of the administration.

Crop diversification - a success story of Krishi vigyan kendra in Nicobar

Maize cultivation in Carnicobar  

(written by : Sanjay Kumar Pandey, subject matter specialist - agronomy, ICAR - KVK, Nicobar)

Shri.Patrick from Tapoiming village, Car Nicobar of Nicobar district is a marginal farmer having 1.0 ha of land in which he grew Maize for the first time. Earlier he was cultivating a single crop by traditional method in his land with gross return of about Rs. 30,000/-. But after the intervention by Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Nicobar district for choosing his land for commercial vegetable and  Maize cultivation in scientific way as well as using his past experience of farming, he has learned about the advantages of improved technologies and took keen interest in converting his land area in to multiple production system. As we know that Car Nicobar totally comprises of tribal population and has different food habit and they are not fond of cereals. This is the reason why they do not practice cereal crop cultivation in their traditional agricultural system and totally depend on Govt. supplies system. Since Nicobarese are not aware of Maize farming, keeping this factor in mind KVK, Nicobar made initiative to promote maize at this Island and choosing one farmer from Tapoiming village of Car Nicobar. In this regards KVK-Nicobar surveyed their traditional agricultural practice system as well as food habits and conducted On Farm Trial (OFT) on Effects of Different Organic Manure on Growth and Yield of Maize cv. Hybryd-6010 to popularize the maize among the tribal people of Car Nicobar in different locations of the Island. The performance of maize was very surprising at Car Nicobar.

The farmers  have become very enthusiastic about the maize as a food supplement in their lifestyle and also added as fodder for their livestock. Now farmers have started maize cultivation practices in their kitchen garden as Bhutta and fodder. Tribal council of Car Nicobar and DC, Nicobar have appreciated the effort of KVK-Nicobar and also suggested for put more work in this regard. 

"stand up india" in nicobar

(written by Shekhar Rai, Extension officer, RD, district: nicobar)

STANDUP INDIA: EXPANDING HORIZONS OF NICOBAR

About Nicobar!

The Nicobar group of Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean, located 1,300 km southeast of the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal, forming the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The district is constituted of Car Nicobar (HQ), Nancowry and Campbell Bay Blocks/ Tehsils all of which are tribal regions except Campbell Bay with three Gram Panchayats and therefore entry of non-tribal into tribal area is subject to Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation 1956.

The district is at a distance of approx. 250km from Port Blair. Furthermore, due to difficulties in transportation and connectivity within these islands, implementation of centrally sponsored schemes to provide assistance to various beneficiaries residing in far flung islands is very difficult.

Footprints of Mr. Ahmed’s Success …

Shri Mohseen Ahmed, R/o village Kinyuka,Car Nicobar expresses his gratitude towards the District Administration Nicobar in bringing about such large scale awareness of the scheme and providing handholding support to potential entrepreneurs among the ST and women class of the Nicobarese society and for facilitating a loan of Rs. 53 lakhs which has definitely changed his life in a big way.

Prior to the benefits under the scheme, he had been a clothes, footwear and electronic shop owner. Before this huge change in his life, he owned a small shop and had to face many issues in successfully running his business.

Firstly, due to acute shortage of finance, he was forced to purchase his shop supplies from Port Blair which resulted in cost escalation and reduced profits. Due to subsequently lower profits, he was unable to import his supplies from mainland as was being done by the merchants of Port Blair and a hand few of well-established merchants of Car Nicobar.

Shri Mohseen is now able to import his shop supplies directly from Chennai/ mainland and is thus now able to sell the same at the rates equivalent to Port Blair and sometimes even cheaper. This has definitely improved the way of life of the tribal people of Car Nicobar. He confers that his earlier wastage of money on mediums and brokers has now been converted into merely profits... more profits.

Shri Mohseen, who was once a small shop owner, has now been able to open two shops by the names of M/s Sarhad Shopping Complex at village Kinyuka and M/s Mohseen Enterprises at village Perka in car Nicobar thereby becoming self-reliant and also has been in a position to provide employment to more than 10 persons in his two shops. He is also planning to expand his business to manufacturing processes.Truly, once a job seeker has become a job Provider.

He feels that drawing inspiration from the scheme and its influence on his business,more people, not only from his village, but from the whole of Nicobar District have begun to come forward to get assistance under the scheme. And since getting loans under the scheme comes without hassles, mortgage or surety, it is really pulling the people towards itself and encouraging them to get their share of fame under the scheme.

Shri Mohseen Ahmed is grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji for bringing out such great opportunities for the common man to grow. He is now a true believer of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas”.

Death in Nicobar

Kakana village graveyard

4^th November 2016 was a sad day. The sky wept and cicadas sang a sad requiem for the death of village Kakana’s 1^st captain, Sh. Gabriel, a very noble soul and a very enterprising leader amongst his fellow villagers.  Having spent time in Nicobar, we have been witness to the fun and frolic during festive times, a very merry and dulcet Christmas season, the energy filled canoe races which are a sight to behold against the myriad blue-green hues, the alacrity to participate in song and dance events in even the other communities’ religious festivals, the slow pace of life which celebrates the rhythm of Nature,  but it is the poise and grace with which the Nicobarese deal with their grief that struck me so deeply. Unlike the noisy cacophony which we often find in certain parts of our country, these people internalize it and stand in silence, praying for the man’s last journey, paying floral tributes one by one without trying to assume unnecessary importance silently and in the most disciplined manner. Being close to Nature they understand the rhythm of life and understand the human seasons too which makes them seemingly stoic to the death. But they also remember their dead every day as their loved ones have become the part of the nature around them, every year on All Souls’ Day (2^nd November) they decorate the graveyard with ixoras, mussaendas and light candles and incense sticks on the graves. At tsunami memorial too, floral wreaths are laid down and candles and incense are lit in the memory of those who perished in the gigantic sweep of the cruel tsunami of 2004  on 1st november every year. 

decorating the graves. photo courtesy : greatheart nicobari

another view of the ritual on All Souls' Day on 2nd Nov

Flight of the sparrow : “beti bachao beti padhao” initiatives in nicobar

“he for God,

she for god in him”

-         John Milton in “paradise lost”

well!! Not quite!!! Nicobar presents itself as a perfect exception to a generally discriminatory World. It is a society where no gender discrimination takes place. There  is no fasting or praying for the birth of a male child. The birth of a girl child is as much a celebration as a boy child’s birth. Daughters are educated at par with their brothers.  There is no dowry and certainly no concept of the woman at the mercy of in-laws.  Yes!! this utopian arcadia does exist in the southern most district of India. It is a society where this half of the population is given the full sky to spread their wings and fly high. The apotheosis of this limitless flight can be seen in the case of Ms. Deborah Harold, the world No. 4 cyclist from our very own kakana village in Carnicobar, whose parents, tuhet and village didn’t see her being a girl as a hindrance but encouraged her at every step to reach the position she is in and are continuing to do so.

When district Nicobar was included in our National Government’s flagship programme “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” , we were surprised as Nicobar enjoys fairly good sex ratio and doesn’t practice discrimination. But then we saw it as a great opportunity to even further broaden the horizons for our girls and women.

We identified the areas where we thought more could be done:

Health, Hygiene and Nutrition : awareness camps with the help of  medical doctors were organized in which discussions were held about adolescent girls and women’s health, the problem of malnutrition, prevalence of anemia and the ways to control it, the menstrual and gynaecological health, upkeep of hygienic practices etc. Demonstrations were given to properly wash hands,  to clean teeth and tongue after each meal, to dispose of sanitary tissues etc. . Kits containing  hand towel, liquid hand wash, toothpaste, tooth brush, sanitary napkin, date and almonds were distributed.

Figure 1 distribution of health, hygiene and nutrition kits by Hon'ble LG Prof. Jagdish Mukhi ji on 27th Oct 2016

Child protection, awareness about “good touch, bad touch”, POCSO and prevention of teenage pregnancy: an extensive campaign was done to reach to every girl child and teach her the meaning of good touch and bad touch through a short film called “komal”. Nicobar Police joined hands with the district team in explaining POCSO and protection of children from physical or mental abuse. One matter of great concern in the district was and still remains, is the prevalence of teenage pregnancy which requires both tact and strategy. This year our target is to develop a full-fledged strategy to combat this problem that kills the adolescence of girls and pushes them in to an early womanhood. This year Police department also plans to impart a ten-days basic self-defense training to Nicobarese  girls.

Organizing competitions to enhance the academic excellence : various competitions like essay writing, quizzing, speech competitions along with poster making, slogan writing, craft making competitions are organized all over the district to bring out a competitive edge amongst the girls of Nicobar. Attractive prizes including bicycles were given to them which were appreciated in far flung islands of Chowra as well.

Zonal sports competitions: Nicobarese people do extremely well in sports. Various competitions including cycle race, 100m, 200m and 400m , sack race, needle race, 3 legged race, shot put, long jump, high jump etc are organized from time to time to further hone the inherent sports potential among girl children. The winners of the sports competition held in feburary 2016 were given very attractive cash prizes.

      Figure 2: picture of cycle race, held in feburary 2016.

Beti janmohatsav and post-natal maternal health: It was realized that apart from felicitating mothers and newly born girl children with baby bedding and bath kits, it was important to ensure that proper nutrition was being provided to mothers. For this post natal checkup, emphasis on mother’s milk and mother’s daily nutritional

requirements was made. New mothers were also given nutrition kits that included horlicks, dates, almonds and other dry fruits.

Figure 3: distribution of baby bedding and mothers' nutrition kit by perka village captain, Sh. Moses Reuben

Skill development by provision of training through other departments: other departments like agriculture, animal husbandry and industries are poised to organize a fortnight long training for 50 girls in each of the three sub-divisonal blocks, to enhance their capability and impart skills to make them employable or help them form self help groups to start small enterprises.

Awareness programmes: a plethora of programmes were done all over the district to bring out the best in girl children. A team called “dhoomketu group” sent by Ministry of broadcasting, Song and Drama Division was sent to organize puppet shows, magic shows and nukkad nataks all over the district. The team was accompanied by our CDPO, Smt Indira devi and performed at Chowra, Teressa, Katchal, Nancowry, Kamorta, Campbell bay and delighted. The district was dotted with Cycle rally, candle marches and media rallies which were great festivals witnessed by the islanders.

Figure 4:  magic show by dhoomketu group in kinyuka village

 Apart from these a series of events like great women themed fancy dress competition, baby girl shows, distribution of sanitary napkins, cultural evenings, showcasing of women oriented movies like “chak de” etc took place, which were well appreciated by the people of Nicobar and especially among women of Nicobar. The greatest achievement this year had been an increase of 35% in this year’s class 12^th result while the class 10^th result increased by 1% to 97.9%. We also saw a decrease in cases of anaemia, skin diseases and viral hepatitis which has encouraged us.  This year too we intend to carry the previous year’s legacy even further link the programme with the improvement of  our district’s  IMR and MMR, prevention of teenage pregnancy, felicitation of academic excellence, skill development, capacity building and a overall holistic development of the girl children to help them become better humans, better citizens and the pride and glory of our great nation

BBBP poster designed by Dhruw Nath Singh, PGT

Töölöök Tövai Panam : a small step towards a more beautiful world

“Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds”

                                                             G B Hinckley

The sea flanking the Carnic island is in turn teal, aquamarine, azure, sapphire, lapis lazuli and grey and the sands silvery white . Beholding one such view, two eco friendly huts and  seven benches, made up of locally available material, completely in-sync with the island’s beauty have been constructed and dedicated to the people of Sansad Adarsh Gram Kinyuka, under the aegis of MGNREGA scheme of Government of India

.

The site known as “Töölöök Tövai Panam” (our beautiful world) is a charming little spot for recreation and picnic dedicated to the people of Carnic. The two eco-friendly huts are made up of locally available bamboo, cane and jungle post so magnanimously provided by the captains of Kimious and Aarong and are covered with thatched roofs. The craftsmanship displayed in the construction of these huts with delicate molding of cane is par excellence. The huts are painted in earthy browns and forest greens and are in complete harmony with the surroundings.

This project incurred an expenditure of a little above four lakh rupess, out of which more than 3.7 lakhs were given as wages to create 1554 mandays  and in this case “women-days” as more than 80% MGNREGA workers in this project were women, scripting a small but successful story of asset creation , with a very small carbon footprint (if at all), along with providing meaningful and satisfying employment to these very proficient craftsmen and women of Carnicobar.

The construction of these huts and benches along with cane garbage bins and planting of flowering plants like periwinkle and tecoma was completed in a record time by the MGNREGA team comprising of Block Development Officer, Programme Officer, Assistant Engineer and four extremely dedicated Gram Rozgar Sevaks . Three solar street lamps erected by the electricity department adds to the attraction and safety of this spot.

entry to the picnic spot

blessed by a priest before inauguration

The site was decorated with tender leaves of coconut and was inaugurated by S.P. Nicobar after a prayer was read out by the Kinyuka church priest on 15^th August 2016, to the loud cheer and exultation of everyone present. The inauguration function also saw the distribution of complete Soccer Kit and Yoga mats worth fifty thousand rupees by sports department to the sports loving people of Kinyuka under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)..

The eco-huts constructed at Kinyuka have been widely appreciated for their recreational utility and environmental friendly construction. The district administration plans to construct  similar huts under MGNREGA not just in Carnicobar but also in other islands of the district as well. We firmly believe that it takes a small step to make a giant leap. Jai Hind