Heavy rains lash Andaman & Nicobar islands - 800 tourists stranded in Havelock Island

Heavy rains have lashed Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands and, with around 800 tourists stranded on Havelock Island, the Indian Navy has stepped in to evacuate them. Accordingly, four Naval ships Bitra, Bangaram, Kumbhir and Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 38 were deployed for the purpose.
Navy sources have said that the deployment was based on telephonic request from the civilian authorities.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 7 December 2016.

The ships have already departed from Port Blair and are on location. The state of the sea is bad with heavy swell and the ships will go alongside to ferry the tourists to Port Blair.
The heavy rains are a result of a depression in the Bay of Bengal and the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the Indian Meteorological Department had forecast and predicted heavy to very heavy rain at a few places over A&N Islands over the next five days beginning Wednesday. Apart from the forecast of rains there were warnings of winds with speeds of 40-60 kmph and rough sea condition. Fisherman were advised not to venture into the sea around the A&N islands.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Make in Odisha conclave attracts investment of more than Rs 22000 crore on first day

Guwahati airport could become a major airline hub and gateway to the Southeast Asia

Patna zoo adds Chyawanprash to its menu to protect chimpanzees from cold


Lord Shiva cracks jokes and Durga fries samosas (satire)

Moody hates black money and strikes at midnight (satire)

Didi sharpens her weapons to conquer the Hindi belt (satire)


Ohio student stabs people with a butcher knife before being shot dead

Ukraine plans missile tests, Russia responds by sending warships to the Black Sea

London Police deputes anti-terrorism patrol units under Operation Servator


Sir Roger Moore says he could play James Bond once again

President Putin grants Russian citizenship to Hollywood star Steven Seagal

US President Barack Obama presents Medal of Freedom to Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro, Diana Ross and Bill Gates

Off shore island tourism - nine islands selected from Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar

India wants to attract tourists to its off shore islands and, for a start, nine islands in Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar have been selected for conversion to tourist hot spot. This is a part of a master plan to boost tourism via water parks etcetera as has been done by Singapore.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 25 September 2016.

The islands that have been selected are Smith Island, Ross Island, Avis Island and Long Island in Andaman & Nicobar. And, Bangaram, Thinnakara, Suheli, Cheriyam and Minicoy in Lakshadweep. Some tourist facilities in Lakshadweep are, at present, limited to Bangaram and a few other islands. These will see development in infrastructure, tourism, agriculture (organic and fisheries) and renewable energy.
This project is being considered as drivers of tourism and sustainable economic development on the lines of countries like Singapore that uses water parks and natural resources to promote tourism. Thus they have overcome limited land areas while being mindful of conservation.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


Some more interesting links -

Disneyland bans 25 things including selfie sticks in all its locations

Hillary Clinton has pneumonia - she fell ill at September 11 memorial

Lord Ganesh's laddu weighing 21-Kg auctioned for Rs 14.65 in Hyderabad


Moody wants Gold medals from Olympics (satire)

Didi and her BMW dreams (satire)

Goddess Durga and her kids wait for the annual bash (satire)


Suicide bomb attack in Pakistani mosque during Friday prayers kill at least 25

Security beefed up for Munich Oktoberfest 2016

29 people injured in an explosion in New York - no evidence of any terror link


Shah Rukh's 'Fan' and Salman Khan's 'Sultan' to be screened at Busan International Film Festival

Sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy to release in US theaters on May 5, 2017

London-born singer Skepta wins the 25th Mercury prize fr his album Konnichiwa

A total of 26 out of 1381 offshore islands have been identified to boost tourism

India has a total of 1,382 offshore islands and 26 of these, most of which are in Andamans and Lakshadweep, are under consideration for development as tourist destinations. This is what PM Narendra Modi wants, in order to boost tourism.
The selected islands will be provided necessary infrastructure to attract tourists.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 September 2016.

Developmental activities of the elected islands would center around basic infrastructure, tourism, agriculture (including organic agriculture and fisheries) and carbonneutral energy generation (renewable energy). PM Narendra Modi has stressed about the potential for tourism in these areas and has also added that solar energy should be used extensively in this exercise.
The scale of infrastructure development will vary from island to island depending on the environmental conditions. However, the biggest task would be to provide connectivity with the mainland. Therefore, some of the islands can be developed only for day-time tourism. That way, tourists can go, spend some hours there and return before nightfall.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


Some more interesting links -

Disneyland bans 25 things including selfie sticks in all its locations

Hillary Clinton has pneumonia - she fell ill at September 11 memorial

Lord Ganesh's laddu weighing 21-Kg auctioned for Rs 14.65 in Hyderabad


Moody wants Gold medals from Olympics (satire)

Didi and her BMW dreams (satire)

Goddess Durga and her kids wait for the annual bash (satire)


Suicide bomb attack in Pakistani mosque during Friday prayers kill at least 25

Security beefed up for Munich Oktoberfest 2016

29 people injured in an explosion in New York - no evidence of any terror link


Shah Rukh's 'Fan' and Salman Khan's 'Sultan' to be screened at Busan International Film Festival

Sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy to release in US theaters on May 5, 2017

London-born singer Skepta wins the 25th Mercury prize fr his album Konnichiwa