06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

collect coral shingle for household construction
and repairs. The shingle is mixed with lime or
cement and pressed in a mould to make bricks for
building walls and houses. One bag of shingles sells
for Rs. 10-15.Whenever a new construction takes
place the building owner has to apply with the
dept of environment to get permission for
gathering shingle. They are normally permitted to
utilize 100 bags of 10 -15 kg each. Though most
people tend to double this figure. All income
groups participate in this activity.
b. Tourism
Tourism is not a traditional activity and has been
introduced by the Administration to. earn revenue.
The native population receive very little of the
profits from tourism directly but do receive them
indirectly through government subsidies.
Planning for Tourism development in Lakshadweep
started in the five year plans 1974-79.During this
period one of the beautiful uninhabited island
known as Bangaram near Agatti island was
developed as a tourist resort to attract Western
tourists.
Currently there are three types of tourists :
• The day tourist who spends only the day time
on the Islands and return to the tourist ship at
night.
• The resort tourists, that stays overnight in one
of the tourist huts at Kavaratti, Kadmat,
Kalpeni and Minicoy.
• International tourists that stay for longer
periods at Bangaram Island, Kadmat and
Agatti Island Beach resort. These are tourists
who are interested in scuba diving and
snorkeling and come here to enjoy the isolation
and coral environment. There are two dive
schools in Lakshadweep located in Bangaram
and Kadmat.
Since the islands constitute a tribal territory,
entry is by permit, potable water is in short supply.
It is only after meeting the needs of local
inhabitants that surplus water can be spared for
other needs including tourism.
c. Pitti Island - Tern egg collection
Pitti Island has been a natural bird sanctuary ever
since the people of Kavaratti can remember. It is
colonized by terms, mainly noddy terms and sooty
terms, and is currently under the purview of the
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). It has
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Lakshadweep Islands
been deemed a notified bird sanctuary; and no one
is allowed to set foot there without the permission
of the BNHSand the Lakshadweep Administration.
The islanders believe in sustained harvest and
collect the eggs laid by the terms only during the
pre-monsoon months of April I May. This was
because the birds would not sit on their eggs
during these hot months, and if uncollected, he
eggs would rot. It was observed that the birds
would flyaway and nest elsewhere rather than sit
on the rotted eggs. It was, therefore, necessary to
collect the eggs and provide a clean sanctuary for
the terms to nest and propagate their species
(Hoon, 1998)
ii. Domesticated resources
a. History of Agriculture
The early settlers started cultivation of some
cereals in the middle part of the island for meeting
their food requirements. They worked hard to
make the area for cereal cultivation in low-lying
region so as to get capillary water for the soil
moisture. In the interior part of the islands, lowlying
areas are seen with mounds all around. The
belief is that coconut was initially not a man made
crop, but in due course the economic importance
of the coconut was realized by the people and
planned gardening started with the crop. In
uninhabited islands like Suheli, Bangaram,
Thinnakara, Parali and Cheryakara self sown type
of plantations are still seen.
Till the late 1960's cultivation of cereals and
millets such as a special variety of rice called jeer
sala and finger millet (Ragi) and cholam was
practiced in the Island of Androth. The land
owners in the middle part of Androth continued
Ragi cultivation where low lying (created) fields
were available. The variety of finger millet i.e.
(chenna) had a very much preferred golden color.
They totally lost the cultivation in 1965 when a
cyclone swept the island. The farmers demanded
that the Administration should supply them seeds
of Chenna. The administration however selected a
similar type of variety developed by the TNAU-
Coimbatore. The cultivation was renewed until
1978.Once again a cyclone swept the area in 1978
and the entire crop was lost, since the fields were
flooded with rainwater. Mootha Kada Nalla Koya,
a farmer brought the matter to the notice of the
administrative authorities and pursued on getting
stocks of cereals and millets for cultivation
(Chenna and cereals) in Androth. He died in 1984