This story is from May 25, 2020

Chennai: Andaman and Nicobar residents to sail home on May 28

In a major relief for residents of Andaman and Nicobar Islands stranded in the city, a passenger ship will be operated to ferry about 600 individuals to Port Blair on May 28. It is the first vessel between Chennai and Port Blair since the lockdown began, leaving around 1,500 residents of the Union territory stuck across the country. Of them, 600 are in different parts of Chennai.
Chennai: Andaman and Nicobar residents to sail home on May 28
Some residents of Andaman and Nicobar islands stuck in the city are put up in the Union territory guest house in Ashok Nagar
CHENNAI: In a major relief for residents of Andaman and Nicobar Islands stranded in the city, a passenger ship will be operated to ferry about 600 individuals to Port Blair on May 28. It is the first vessel between Chennai and Port Blair since the lockdown began, leaving around 1,500 residents of the Union territory stuck across the country. Of them, 600 are in different parts of Chennai.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration’s deputy resident commissioner in Chennai, V Boobalakani, told TOI that the vessel named M V Nicobar would leave Chennai Port on May 28.
“The Union territory administration is operating the vessel, that would take stranded patients and students to Port Blair initially. The vessel will be ferrying once in four days till all the residents of the islands are evacuated,” she told TOI. Though the ship has a capacity to ferry 1,200 passengers it will be operated at 50% capacity to maintain physical distancing.
Unlike the rest of the country that is linked by roads and railways, the Union territory can be accessed only by air or sea. According to the deputy resident commissioner, the passengers must undergo the mandatory quarantine period after reaching Port Blair. “We are in the process of scanning passengers in the city before their departure,” she added.
TOI had on May 18 reported that about 600 residents of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, who came to Chennai before the lockdown, were stranded and running from pillar to post to reach the Union territory. A vessel that was scheduled to take them to the Union territory on May 6 was cancelled leading to disappointment among the residents.
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