Supreme Court has barred any commercial and tourism activity either by the government or private operators within a five km radius of the Jarawa tribal reserve in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
An apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya in their order Monday said that any breach of this restriction would amount to contempt of court.
The court said this while referring to the notification issued by the Lt. Governor Andaman and Nicobar Islands which declared as a “buffer zone” an area of five km radius around the reserve.
Earlier, tour companies  were running safaris through Jarawa  jungle every day and wealthy tourists paid police to make the women – usually naked – dance for their amusement. This footage, filmed by a tourist, shows Jarawa women being told to dance by an off-camera police office.
A cellphone clip more than 3 minutes long obtained by a British newspaper shows half-naked girls dancing for a man who appears to be an Indian police officer.
A second clip shows men in military uniform milling around the girls. A video of Jarawa women being ordered to dance for tourists in return for food came to light last month, causing outrage the world over. Police have repeatedly denied accusations.
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