What is going on in the Lakshadweep Islands?

After going through various threads and talking to various offices, (SPORTS, Lakshadweep Administration, Pvt tour operator etc. ) what I could understand ( or not understand) is :
First of all how to get permit, without which you do not get board on ship or plane. SPORTS do not do this if you are not going through their package, neither that is an authority for this. No one speaks with you in Lakshadweep Admin, who is an authority to issue the permits. I found no agent doing it for you. SPORTS do not offer any stay arrangement or package on any island, not even Agatti. Even if you reach Agatti by air where will you stay? Yes even I heard that sea shell is still operating. They quoted tariff of Rs. 20,000 per night (Yes.... And I told them, even Seychelles will be cheaper than this ) How can you go elsewhere (other island even if you have the stay arrangements)? http://www.lakport.nic.in show lot many ships with their schedules, but are they followed? How to get on board? It’s not a bus which arrives on the stop and you just have to hop in it.
In spite of this I am trying o find a way to have 5 day cool holiday in Lakshadweep. Please help.

Hi

I was 1 week on Agatti island with my wife and one friend.
We stayed in homestay.
They took care all the permits etc.

This is the place where I stayed
http://www.lakshadweephomestay.com/kasims-home-stay/

Ask for the prices. I'm not from India but I got indian prices.
Price is of course a lot more expensive than on Andaman islands.
Total cost for one week staying was 922 euro for 3 people including return ship ticket from the island & permits and all 3 meals a day.

Payment need to be done by wire transfer. It worked ok also from Finland.
Owner wants more visitors there.
It's a muslim territory as many of you know.(no problem in that)
Some of them (older & more strict if I say right) do not want any tourists there (what I heard and this is the problem maybe with the permits too not sure?). Other & younger people & children are happy all the time to see people visiting them.

Bangaram Island is closed because Casino and some other company is fighting about having business on the island. (again what I heard)

I hope there wont ever be too many tourists in the islands but I hope some are able to be there to fill the resorts & homestays. It's dumb to keep them empty.

Permit idea is a good one as long as it works but it seems it's not working all the time.

I was on Agatti 19-25.1.2012

Hope this helps.

Whats going on in the islands?

Hmmm, I'd planned to take my family on a trip to Lakshwadweep later this year, but all with all these shenanigans going on, I'm changing my plans. With the way things go, who knows when they will set things right? As for one previous comment re: some of the older people on the islands not wanting any tourists there, that's probably accurate. I wonder, though, how they expect to make a living if no-one ever visits the islands.

At any rate, they lost me (and my family) as potential tourists.

What a shambles.

While it may be true that some of the older people may not have liked having tourists on their island this would not apply to Bangaram as there is no resident population. On Kadmat the tourists are based at the south end of the island and the resident population is mainly on the northern end. When we did venture to the northern end of Kadmat we were always well received especially if we were spending money and using the auto drivers who generally do not get much work. Talking to islanders on the ferries they were always delighted that we had chosen to visit the Lakshadweep islands and we have been invited to weddings and some even offered us accommodation in their family homes. I feel really sorry for those islanders who depended on the tourists for their livelihood.

This thread caught my attention as I was planning a trip to Lakshadweep. I was planning to spend 2-3 days with Lacadives, learning the basics of scuba diving at Kadmat, and remaining 4-5 days in Bangaram, Agatti and Kavaratti. We would have taken the AirIndia flight for reaching there and coming back.

Is it possible to plan such a trip in early Feb, 2013?

Lacadives no longer have a centre in the Lakshadweep (they are in the Andermans).
Currently Bangaram is closed as is Kadmat. Permits have been difficult to get for any of the islands. Whether this will be resolved for the next season (September to March 2012-13) is anyones guess sadly.

Sad news.
Hope they open up for the next season.

What a pity. My wife and I learnt to dive on Kadmat with Lacadives, and we had some wonderful holidays there subsequently, including a memorable trip with my daughter (a long-qualified diver) and her husband.

I shall really regret not being able to go back there.

And I am surprised that Ashish Agrawal is be able to make unsubstantiated (and in my view improbable) accusations against Lacadives - accusing them of cheating the Indian taxpayer - which in other places would certainly be libellous.

We too, as ordinary westerners and by no means VIPs, experienced the fun of being bumped off our flights back to Cochin by a last-minute party of government guests on a freebie, with a resulting difficult return journey to Europe. In my very limited personal experience it seems much more likely that government agencies rather than the dive operators are responsible for this debacle.

Finally I decided to head to Andamans. I had 12 day visit to the Island. I also came to know the difference between the two. Andaman is very large and many times give the feeling that we are on mainland. Port Blair is like any Indian small crowded commercial city, having everything including traffic jams

Having said this, those Emerald islands are truly untouched (?) paradise. After spending 12 days, I wish if I had 3-4 days more, I could have seen North Andaman and Long Island too. Apart from world class beaches it has lush green deep jungles, caves, historic monuments, snorkeling, scuba and lot many things to do.

Still I will try my luck this year, expecting calm & cool holidays at Lakshadweep, where I will have nothing but blue sea all around me.

Just spoke to Kasim of http://www.lakshadweephomestay.com.. he said he can get photo permits.. I will be visiting Lakshadweep on 26th Sept. 2012 - 4th Oct. 2012.. I downloaded and filled the Permit form.. will send it to the owner today.. he will also arrange Govt. Stays in other 2 Island.. once I get the info I will post it here..

Hope I can visit this beautiful place soon

Which islands are you hoping to visit?

Hey,,thanks for your response, i am also planning around the same time. I will contact http://www.lakshadweephomestay.com/ in the morning but could you please confirm which islands you did the booking for and what other 2 islands you will be travelling to ??

Cheers

I am just the another one who is in love with these Gorgeous Islands and its such a shame with all these issue these islands are going thru.

Would you care to advice me on Andamans please? As you said those Emerald islands are untouched and all. Of course like all of us i dont want to have that mainland impression, rather i would prefer remote islands/beaches.

Would appreciate your advice of any such islands in Andamans.

Many thanks

Hello I believe it's been almost a year to your trip to Lakshadweep. Do you have any idea on the recent updates for the entry into any of the islands in Lakshadweep. I am planning my honeymoon there during first half of Jan 2013. What all are open and where all to stay is preferable.