Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP workers to take the development story of Andaman and Nicobar islands under the NDA rule to people and advised them to ensure that government’s developmental schemes reach every person in their territory. The Prime Minister also listed a host of initiatives taken to aid business and tourism in the archipelago.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was interacting with BJP workers of Andaman and Nicobar Islands through a video conference in the presence of BJP president JP Nadda on Sunday.

The meeting comes a day before inauguration of the submarine optical Fibre cable connecting Chennai and Port Blair on August 10. The submarine cable, which will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat of the Island group, is expected to transform life in the remote Island including defence, business and tourism sectors.

“The internet connectivity in Andman and Nicobar will go through a sea change after the inauguration of the facility on Monday. This will facilitate online education, tourism and business in the island,” the PM said.

It is expected to deliver faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services at par with other parts of the country. PM Modi had laid the foundation stone for this project on December 30, 2018 at Port Blair.

The internet services in the island have not been reliable and 4G mobile services were disrupted due to limited bandwidth provided via satellite. A government statement said that the enhanced telecom and broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the islands, give an impetus to the economy and raise standards of living while facilitating delivery of e-Governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education.

An estimated 2,300 km of submarine optical fibre cable (OFC) has been laid at an expenditure of about Rs 1,224 crore and the project has been completed well within deadline.

During the interaction, party workers described to the Prime Minister how they provided food and medical aid to people stuck in the island during the lockdown. Modi lauded their efforts in serving distressed people in the island during the coronavirus pandemic.

PM Modi had interacted with party workers of Rajasthan and Bihar via video conferencing as part of party’s ‘Seva Hi Sangathan’ programme last month.

‘You have taken the spirit of ‘Seva hi Sangthan’ to nook and cranny of the island to every poor person’s house and have passed in this exercise with flying colours,” PM Modi told the workers in Andaman and Nicobar.

Total number of coronavirus patients in Andaman and Nicobar Islands has reached 1,222 on Saturday. The Union Territory has 778 active cases, while 425 have been cured of the disease so far. 19 patients have died in the archipelago.

Speaking about other development initiatives in the region, the Prime Minister said that 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar have been chosen for the expansion of high impact projects and people will soon be able to access the islands through seaplanes. He added that the expansion work of the Port Blair airport was a work in progress.