Letter draws attention to absence of safety standards in Andaman

This, even after a boat tragedy that killed more than 20 people two months ago

Just two months before the recent boat tragedy at Andaman & Nicobar Islands killing more then 20 people, the tourism ministry had received a letter from a traveller pointing out that an accident was waiting to happen there. The letter, which was forwarded to the state authorities, had drawn attention to the absence of safety standards followed in the island’s tourist circuit.

Travel companies, when contacted, said they mostly deployed their own personnel on ground during the peak travel season between October and April. “Andaman is a big part of our business. We are extremely careful in our tie ups with operators to see that the quality and safety standards are met. We increase the strength of our team locally when the demand is high,” said Sharat Dhal, president, Yatra.com.

The latest accident which took place on the harbor route--one of the four sectors where vessels ply in the Andamans-- had no one to check that nearly double the capacity of passengers were getting on board and none of them in life jackets. “Our preliminary probe shows that the boat had all the life jackets but tourists were not wearing them. We do random checks but no certifies each voyage,” said Punya Srivastava, commissioner of police, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Andamans are one of the major destinations being promoted under the Incredible India campaign. It is considered one of the top five leisure destinations of India. In 2012, over 239,000 domestic tourists and 18,000 foreign tourists visited the islands. The number has been steadily growing at 18 per cent year on year. “We can only draft codes and we have done that in the past. But we are facilitators. We cannot tell the states to apply these measures,” a senior tourism ministry official said.

In spite of all the growth that the archipelago is witnessing, there is hardly any tourism infrastructure available. Of the 556 islands in Andaman and Nicobar, 37 are inhabited. No branded hotel room inventory has developed there yet and connectivity too remains a challenge. “They have not been able to handle the growth in tourist numbers these past few years. Tour operators cannot become police. We can only ensure that we tie up with reliable service providers,” a leading leisure travel company executive said.

As the peak season for Andamans continues, some travellers have learnt better than to take any chances. “I think I am going to carry my own life jackets also because who knows what they provide would even be inflatable,” a traveller bound for Andamans this March said.