According to reports, the government has decided to rename the Ross, Neil and Havelock Islands in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, respectively.
The renaming is likely to be announced during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Port Blair on December 30 to mark the 75th anniversary of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose hoisting the national flag at Port Blair.
However, the Andaman and Nicobar Hoteliers Association is not really happy with the decision as they fear the move will affect their tourist business. In a letter to the Prime Minister of India, The members of the association requested the the concerned authorities change the name of the lesser known islands rather the ones which have created a strong tourism brand.
“We have reservation in changing the names of the tourist destinations like Havelock, Neil, Ross Island, Viper island, Jolly Boy, North Bay, Red Skin, etc. These Islands are Synonyms with the Tourism since the last view. The changing of name of these islands after having created a strong brand will cause immense loss to tourism and to the local youth involved in tourism, ” redd the request letter.
The concerned members suggested to rename the lesser known and the newly discovered islands in the names of freedom fighters. The letter further suggested to rename the Digligir group of Islands.
