KAVARATTI: The order appointing a government official to fishing boats in Lakshadweep has been withdrawn following widespread protests. The decision came after employees and locals protested the order. As the protests in Lakshadweep became public, government officials were assigned to gather intelligence on local fishing boats. The order to increase security on ships has also been withdrawn. On May 28 and June 2, Sachin Sharma, the managing director of the port, introduced new security enhancements on the island. Accordingly, the security level of ships and boat jetties was raised to two and strict monitoring was proposed.

The direction was that a government official should go on all the local boats and collect the information and hand it over to the government. The workers had earlier protested against the officials boarding the boat. Meanwhile, the government employees' union also came out against the order. Lakshadweep Govt Employees Central Secretariat has submitted a letter to the Director of Shipping and Aviation asking it to withdraw the order.

Various central agencies are currently conducting inspections to find suspicious moves if security is behind the order. Local police are also investigating. In addition, the decision to deploy staff on boats is reprehensible. Their demand was that working eight to 10 hours at sea would cause mental stress to inexperienced officers and in this situation they should withdraw the decision.

Currently, only the port director's orders relating to the safety of boats and jetties have been withdrawn. No other controversial orders have been withdrawn, including travel restrictions on the island.