Block Road

Andaman Trunk Road, the main highway on the island, has now become the site for protests and campaigns asking, ironically, for it to be closed down.

Andaman Trunk Road, the main highway on the island, has now become the site for protests and campaigns asking, ironically, for it to be closed down. The road cuts through the land of the endangered Jarawa tribe and poses a threat to their survival. The Supreme Court had ordered it shut down in 2002, but it has not been implemented. Survival International and a local NGO, Search, have joined hands to launch a campaign urging tourists to boycott the road. “It brings hundreds of people every day, thus risking passing on diseases to the tribe that has only initiated contact with outsiders since 1998. The Jarawa only number about 365; an epidemic could devastate them,” says Sophie Grig, senior campaigner with Survival International. There have been instances when tourists have thrown biscuits and sweets out of moving vehicles to attract tribe members as though they were animals. This has also resulted in accidents as children often rush towards the vehicles to grab the treats. There have also been cases of men sexually abusing Jarawa women on the main road. “Jarawas have lived in the forests of Andaman for about 55,000 years. They should be able to decide and control how much contact they have with outsiders and not have it imposed on them daily via the road,” says Sophie.

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Avantika Bhuyan