The Hindu Business Line : Tsunami: A big blow to the business community

IT would be an exaggeration to call Port Blair a ghost city; it is not that yet. But it is certainly a battered and desolate city. There were over 5,000 tourists in Port Blair - a large number for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands which have a total population of only four lakh - on December 26, when the tsunami waves came in to devastate the islands, wreaking more vengeance on the southern side of the archipelago.

According to preliminary estimates, almost 70 per cent of the public and private infrastructure of Nicobar has been wiped out, and nature's fury has flattened as many as five lakh coconut trees, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the copra industry on which the livelihoods of thousands of families were dependent.

The tourists who fled Port Blair within a week of the tsunami havoc are showing no signs of returning even though tepid inquiries have begun. The Indian Airline's flight from Chennai to Port Blair (operated by Alliance Air) on which it was impossible to find a seat right from mid-November had barely 30 passengers last week.

The hotels, where not a room was to be had, are deserted. But for journalists and NGOs they would have to close down.

Mr Mohamd H. Jadwet, President of the Andamans Chamber of Commerce and Industry, puts the loss in revenue due to tourism in the December-April period to Rs 50 crore.

But while this loss is tangible and the A&N administration is pulling out all the stops to revive tourism - the Lieutenant Governor, Mr Ram Kapse, told this correspondent that he had personally written to all the private players inviting them to operate flights to Port Blair and urged the national carrier not only to increase the number of flights but also offer apex fares which are currently not available - what is more worrying is the intangible loss.

I visited Jadwet & Sons, a prominent shop in the main Aberdeen bazaar in Port Blair more than once. A prominent family in the archipelago, they were given certain trading and shipping rights by the British for a group of Islands, particularly Car Nicobar. Today, they are the sole distributors for Philips, Godrej, Britanni, Usha International and other companies. But during the visits one doesn't recall seeing a single customer in the huge shop. The staff has quite a tough task in keeping the shining refrigerators, television sets and other appliances free of dust. Says senior partner of the firm, Mr M.E. Jadwet, "when people are still wondering what to do with their fridges or TV sets that were submerged in water, if not washed away, how can you expect them to come out and buy a new appliance. Right now, there are many people who wake up in the nights wondering when the sea water will enter their homes again."

But the immediate worry of businessmen like him is not the slump in sales. It is not even the paltry sum insurance companies are offering them for the damage their homes and offices have sustained in the earthquake. "For instance, this building of ours, which has been insured for Rs 40 lakh and contains the clause on earthquake damage too, has sustained huge cracks that you can see all over the place. It'll cost me Rs 7 lakh to repair it... we've got the damage assessed by structural engineers. But the insurance company has offered me Rs 2 lakh; I was so angry I just walked out of their office. Only this morning, they called again - we've had a long business relationship - asking me to cool down and submit a structural plan of the building. Believe me, I'm not seeking an extra paisa from insurance than what it'll take to repair this building." He gives the example of a business colleague, the owner of Haathi Tapu Shipping. "They were into repair of boats and themselves owned some small boats. He suffered a damage of nearly Rs 30 lakh; the insurance company has offered him compensation of Rs 10 lakh. Now, he is packing up and going back to the mainland."

But more than insurance compensation Mr Jadwet's major worry is about the credit businessmen like him had extended to small dealers and clients. "Each shop in this bazaar has an outstanding running into Rs 5, 10, 20 lakh or even more from businesses all over the territory. But the tsunami has not only wiped away the majority of those shops, it has even taken away many of the owners. What hope have we got of getting back that money? In the meanwhile, can we tell the banks that the OD we have with them cannot be honoured because of the tsunami," he asks.

Businessmen like him have sent a wish list to the Finance Minister seeking relief in the Budget for rephasing of loans, waiver of bank interest for a period and exemption from service tax. "If the banks don't show some compassion and flexibility, we're finished," he says.

Mr Jadwet says several small businesses have folded up from Port Blair. "I don't need to be told how many people have left... sitting in this bazaar I can tell from the movement of people that thousands have left Port Blair. When business does pick up, we're going to have a tough time in finding labour. In our house, we had five boys working for us; all of them have run away. They saw the sea water coming in and were petrified."

With over half a century spent in A&N, the Jadwet family can't even think of leaving. "Where else can we go? We'll have to sit it out and wait for business to pick up. That will take months; but meanwhile I have to pay salaries to my 13-member staff. Can I tell them that because there is no business, because we had given credit which might never come back, we can't pay them," he asks helplessly.

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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