Sub: - Authoritarian rule of the Administrator of the UT of Lakshadweep and the increasing unrest among the people against his unilateral decisions-Reg.

I would like to draw your kind attention on the subject mentioned above and request you to urgently call back the Administrator of the UT of Lakshadweep considering the anti-people policies of him which led to widespread protest among the people. You have appointed Shri. Praful Patel as the Administrator of the UT of Lakshadweep on 5th December 2020 consequent to the sad demise of the Shri. Dineshwar Sharma. As soon Shri. Praful Patel assumed that office, he unilaterally changed the Standard Operating Proced ure (SOP) which was in force in the island for preventing the spread of COVID pandemic. According to the people of the island, this unplanned and unscientific altering of SOP has led to the current surge in COVID cases in Lakshadweep where there was not even a single case reported in the year 2020.

You may kindly go through the orders and promulgations issued by the Lakshadweep administration under the current Administrator.It can be seen that all of those orders and promulgations are issued with an ulterior motive to destroy the traditional life and cultural diversity of the people of Lakshadweep. All of the regulations were promulgated without an iota of consideration towards the people or their choice of food and livelihood. The undemocratic and anti-people regulation in the name of 'Animal Preservation' which intends to ban slaughter, transportation, selling or buying of beef products is one among such orders. This is a blatant onslaught on the people who depends upon dairying and growing of bovine as a means of livelihood. A large section of people in the UT of Lakshadweep finds their earnings from this, and the same has been destroyed by the abovesaid regulation. Neither the island community nor the local bodies in the island ever raised such a demand, and they were never consulted during such regulations are being framed.

Under the new Administrator, hundreds of casual and contract labourers who were working under different departments of the UT of Lakshadweep have lost their job. Every day orders are being released to terminate the casual and contractual staffs from different government offices. About 38 Anganwadis were closed. 190 people were terminated from the tourism department. School lunch makers and sports teachers were terminated. Many were expelled from the Department of Animal Welfare and the Department of Agriculture. All this has caused great concern and suffering among the islanders during this pandemic time.

Due to cultural and religious reasons, there was restriction on the use of alcohol in the UT of Lakshadweep. But the current Administrator unilaterally lifted that restriction despite of repeated requests from the people not to do so. This decision is also intended to destroy the harmony and trample the religious beliefs of the people living there. Fishing is the main source of income for majority of the people living in the island. The sheds where fishermen used to keep their nets and other equipment were demolished by the new administration on the grounds that they violated the Coast Guard Act. The temporary buildings, which were earlier constructed under an exemption given only to fishermen by the administration, are now being demolished without any warning. This caused huge losses to the workers. The administration has also decided that the islanders should no longer rely on Beypore port for freight transit. lnstead, they should depend on Mangalore port for this purpose. The decision will also adversely affect Beypore, which is closely associated with the island since decades. lt is alleged that the decision is aimed at severing Lakshadweep's ties with Kerala.

ln the name of reforms and schemes the new administrator is trying to completely destroy the traditional life of the people of Lakshadweep. Many of the existing laws are being amended unilaterally and new legislations are being drafted without any consultation with the people or their elected representatives. All these unilateral, undemocratic and anti-people decisions have created very huge unrest among the people and the whole Lakshadweep wants this Administrator and his policies to leave the island. In this scenario, l humbly submit to you that this kind of authoritarian Administrators should not be allowed to continue in the office. So, you may urgently call back the Administrator of the UT of Lakshadweep Shri. Praful Patel and immediately review and withdraw all the orders and reforms promulgated under his rule. Expecting a favourable action at the earliest.