PHUKET, Thailand (3 Aug 2005) -- Several environmentalists have raised objections to a proposed plan to bring in tourists from the Thai resort of Phuket to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The environmentalists say the administration is obliged to protect the islands' fragile eco-system and indigenous communities under a Supreme Court ruling made in 2002. "Unfortunately, more than three years later, some key parts of these orders continue to be blatantly violated by the Andaman and Nicobar administration," they said in a recent letter sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. They were quoted as saying that Thailand's tourism model would spell disaster for the Andamans landscape and its indigenous population. Last month, India and Thailand signed an agreement to bring in tourists to the Andaman Islands. Tourists numbers have plummeted in the Andamans since the December tsunami. | | The archipelago used to get nearly 100,000 tourists every year. Now, it is down to a tenth of that figure. The environmentalists said the administration had done little to protect the indigenous Jarawa tribe, one of the oldest aboriginal groups left in the world. SOURCE - Hindustan Times |
