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Port Blair

Coordinates: 11°40′06″N 92°44′16″E / 11.66833°N 92.73778°E / 11.66833; 92.73778
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Port Blair
City
Sri Vijaya Puram
Clockwise from top:
Aerial view of Port Blair, Seaside Road, Cellular Jail, Jaljeevshala Aquarium, Port Blair Science Centre, Beach in Port Blair
Port Blair is located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Port Blair
Port Blair
Location in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Port Blair is located in Bay of Bengal
Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair (Bay of Bengal)
Coordinates: 11°40′06″N 92°44′16″E / 11.66833°N 92.73778°E / 11.66833; 92.73778
Country India
Union Territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands
DistrictSouth Andaman
Government
 • TypeMayor–Council
 • BodyPort Blair Municipal Council
Area
[2][3]
 • Total
41 km2 (16 sq mi)
Elevation
16 m (52 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2][3][1]
 • Total
140,572[1]
Time zoneUTC+5.30 (IST)
ClimateAm

Port Blair (pronunciationⓘ), officially named as Sri Vijaya Puram,[4] is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (tehsil) of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South Andaman, and the territory's only notified town.

Port Blair is the entry point for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is connected with mainland India by both air and sea. It is a two to three-hour flight from mainland India to Port Blair's Veer Savarkar International Airport and three to four days by sea to reach Kolkata, Chennai, or Visakhapatnam from Haddo Wharf in the city. It is home to several museums and the major naval base INS Jarawa of the Indian Navy, along with sea and air bases of the Indian Coast Guard, Andaman and Nicobar Police, Andaman and Nicobar Command, the first integrated tri-command between the Indian Armed Forces, Indian Air Force and the navy.[5]

The historic Cellular Jail is in the city, and nearby small islands such as Corbyn's Cove, Wandoor, Ross Island and Viper Island were once home to British colonists.[6] The city was named after Captain Archibald Blair, a British colonial navy official of the East India Company. On 13 September 2024, the Government of India renamed the city to Sri Vijaya Puram.[7]

History

[edit]
The Ross Island Prison Headquarters, 1872

Pre-history

[edit]

The indigenous inhabitants are the Andamanese. Radiocarbon dating studies of the kitchen refuse dumps from the mounds excavated by the Anthropological Survey of India at Choladari near Port Blair indicate human occupation for at least 2,000 years,[8][9][better source needed] although they are likely to have diverged from the inhabitants of the mainland significantly earlier.

Modern history

[edit]

In 1789 the Government of Bengal established a penal colony on Chatham Island in the southeast bay of Great Andaman, named Port Blair in the honour of Archibald Blair of the East India Company. After two years, the colony moved to the northeast part of Great Andaman and was named Port Cornwallis after Admiral William Cornwallis. However, there was much disease and death in the penal colony, and the government ceased operating it in May 1796.

In 1824 Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the First Anglo-Burmese War. In the 1830s and 1840s, shipwrecked crews who landed on the Andamans were often attacked and killed by the natives, alarming the British government. In 1855, the government proposed another settlement on the islands, including a convict establishment, but the Indian Rebellion of 1857 forced a delay in its construction.

However, since the rebellion provided the British with a lot of new prisoners, it made the new Andaman settlement and prison an urgent necessity. Construction began in November 1857 at the renovated Port Blair, avoiding the vicinity of a saltwater swamp that seemed to have been the source of many of the old colony's problems. The penal colony was originally on Viper Island. The convicts, mostly political prisoners, suffered life imprisonment at hard labour under cruel and degrading conditions. Many were hanged, while others died of disease and starvation. Between 1864 and 1867 a penal establishment was also built with convict labour on the northern side of Ross Island.[10] These structures now lie in ruins.[11]

As the Indian independence movement continued to grow in the late 19th century, the enormous Cellular Jail was constructed between 1896 and 1906 to house Indian convicts, mostly political prisoners, in solitary confinement. The Cellular Jail is also known as Kala Pani (translated as "Black Waters"), a name given to it due to the torture and general ill-treatment of its Indian convicts.

In World War II the islands were occupied by the Japanese on 23 March 1942 without opposition from the garrison. From 1943 to 1944, Port Blair served as the headquarters of the Azad Hind government under Subhas Chandra Bose. British forces returned to the islands in October 1945.[12]

Although affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Port Blair survived sufficiently to act as a base for relief efforts in the islands. In 2017 it was selected as one of the cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission.[13]

Climate

[edit]

Port Blair has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am), with little variation in average temperature and large amounts of precipitation throughout the year. All months except January, February, and March receive substantial rainfall.

Highest recorded temperature: 36.8 °C (98.2 °F) on 20 April 2013[14]

Lowest recorded temperature: 14.6 °C (58.3 °F) on 5 June 1986[14]

Climate data for Port Blair (1991–2020, extremes 1901–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 33.0
(91.4) 		34.6
(94.3) 		36.0
(96.8) 		36.8
(98.2) 		36.4
(97.5) 		35.6
(96.1) 		32.8
(91.0) 		32.7
(90.9) 		35.4
(95.7) 		35.6
(96.1) 		34.0
(93.2) 		35.4
(95.7) 		36.8
(98.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 29.9
(85.8) 		30.6
(87.1) 		31.7
(89.1) 		32.5
(90.5) 		31.5
(88.7) 		30.0
(86.0) 		29.6
(85.3) 		29.5
(85.1) 		29.5
(85.1) 		30.2
(86.4) 		30.5
(86.9) 		30.1
(86.2) 		30.5
(86.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 26.5
(79.7) 		26.9
(80.4) 		27.6
(81.7) 		28.7
(83.7) 		28.2
(82.8) 		27.2
(81.0) 		27.0
(80.6) 		26.9
(80.4) 		26.6
(79.9) 		27.0
(80.6) 		27.4
(81.3) 		27.0
(80.6) 		27.3
(81.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 23.0
(73.4) 		22.7
(72.9) 		23.4
(74.1) 		24.7
(76.5) 		24.9
(76.8) 		24.6
(76.3) 		24.2
(75.6) 		24.2
(75.6) 		23.7
(74.7) 		23.8
(74.8) 		24.3
(75.7) 		23.9
(75.0) 		24.0
(75.2)
Record low °C (°F) 14.8
(58.6) 		15.9
(60.6) 		16.2
(61.2) 		17.3
(63.1) 		17.1
(62.8) 		18.8
(65.8) 		18.0
(64.4) 		19.8
(67.6) 		16.8
(62.2) 		17.8
(64.0) 		17.3
(63.1) 		16.2
(61.2) 		14.6
(58.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 48.9
(1.93) 		14.2
(0.56) 		32.7
(1.29) 		78.0
(3.07) 		407.2
(16.03) 		484.2
(19.06) 		448.5
(17.66) 		460.2
(18.12) 		505.2
(19.89) 		300.9
(11.85) 		221.8
(8.73) 		111.4
(4.39) 		3,113.4
(122.57)
Average rainy days 2.2 0.9 1.8 4.2 15.9 18.7 19.3 19.1 20.0 14.9 10.4 4.9 132.3
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 75 71 72 74 83 86 86 86 89 87 82 77 81
Mean monthly sunshine hours 266.6 265.6 266.6 237.0 158.1 90.0 102.3 99.2 117.0 167.4 189.0 241.8 2,200.6
Mean daily sunshine hours 8.6 9.4 8.6 7.9 5.1 3.0 3.3 3.2 3.9 5.4 6.3 7.8 6.0
Source 1: India Meteorological Department (sun 1971-2000)[15][16][17][18]
Source 2: NOAA(extremes[14]), Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020)[19]

Tourism

[edit]

Port Blair is the entry point for all tourism-related activities. Tourists first have to arrive at Port Blair before progressing on to any other islands in Andaman. At Port Blair, the major tourist places to visit are the Cellular Jail, Corbyns Cove Beach, North Bay Island, Ross Island renamed to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Chidiatapu, Wandoor, Samudrika Naval Marine Museum, and other museums that are present within city limits. Entry charges apply to some of the tourist places.[citation needed]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1951 7,789—    
1961 14,075+80.7%
1971 26,218+86.3%
1981 49,634+89.3%
1991 74,955+51.0%
2001 99,984+33.4%
2011 108,058+8.1%
Source: Government of India[20]

As of 2011 India census,[21] Port Blair had a population of 100,608. Males constitute 52.92% (53,247) of the population and females 47.07% (47,361). 9.3% of the population is under the age of 6 years.

Language

[edit]

Bengali is the most spoken language of the city, followed by Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil.[22] Hindi is the official language of the region, while English is declared an additional official language for communication purposes.[23]

Religion

[edit]
Religion in Port Blair City (2011)
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 74%
Islam
 
 12.7%
Christianity
 
 12.4%
Others
 
 0.9%

The most common religion is Hinduism, followed by Christianity and Islam.[citation needed]

Literacy

[edit]
Literacy in Port Blair
Literacy Percent
Male
 
 92.79%
Female
 
 86.73%
All
 
 89.76%

Port Blair has an average literacy rate of 89.76%, higher than the national average that is 74.04%. In Port Blair, male literacy is 92.79%, and female literacy is 86.34%.[citation needed]

Administration

[edit]

The Port Blair Municipal Council, abbreviated as PBMC is the ruling civic body administering the city of Port Blair, the capital and the largest city in the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The council came into existence on 2 October 1957 after the assent by the President of India to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Municipal Board's) Regulation, 1957 Act on 11 March 1957. The council comprises a total of 24 wards after the recent delimitation and the expansion of the city limits with the merger of a few other villages to the existing 18 wards previously.[24][25]

The recent elections for the council were held in 2022.[26][27] U. Kavitha from Ward 24 a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party was elected as the chairperson for the first term which commenced on 16 March 2022.[28][29] On 14 March 2023, Telugu Desam Party councillor S. Selvi from Ward 5 was elected as the chairperson for the second year term commencing from 16 March 2023 as part of the joint candidature from the BJP-TDP Alliance.[30][31]

Port Blair Municipal Council
Type
Type
History
Founded2 October 1957
(67 years ago) (2 October 1957)
Leadership
Chairperson
S. Selvi, TDP
since 16 March 2023
Secretary
Smitha R, IAS
Structure
Seats24
Political groups
Government (13)
  •   BJP (10)
  •   TDP (2)
  •   IND (1)

Opposition (11)

Elections
Last election
2022
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Indira Bhavan
Website
pbmc.gov.in

PBMC electoral history

[edit]
Year BJP INC TDP DMK AIADMK IND Ref.
2015 11 6 2 1 1 3 [32]
2022 10 10 2 1 0 1 [33]
2015 PBMC Results[34]
# Winner Runner Up Margin
Candidate Party Votes Candidate Party Votes
1 S. Karunakaran Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 1,892 S. Shahul Hameed Indian National Congress 694 1,198
2 R. Someswara Rao Bharatiya Janata Party 2,152 S. Jayakumaren Nair Indian National Congress 1,035 1,117
3 Ramjan Ali Independent 1,849 A. R. Andan Indian National Congress 1,753 96
4 E. Rani All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 851 Jameela Bibi Independent 584 267
5 S. Selvi Telugu Desam Party 1,105 A. Shanmugam Bharatiya Janata Party 742 363
6 Protima Banerjee Telugu Desam Party 1,369 K. Durga Bhavani Bharatiya Janata Party 438 931
7 K. Indra Pal Singh Bharatiya Janata Party 1,846 K. Ibrahim Telugu Desam Party 804 1,042
8 K. Ganeshan Indian National Congress 687 Ganesh Babu Telugu Desam Party 427 260
9 Anusia Devi Bharatiya Janata Party 901 R. Nagamma Indian National Congress 772 129
10 Sheela Singh Bharatiya Janata Party 1,063 Moti Chand Indian National Congress 855 208
11 P. Prathibha Rao Bharatiya Janata Party 803 Vinita Malhotra Indian National Congress 617 186
12 S. N. N. Gregory Bharatiya Janata Party 1,297 S. Muthuraman Indian National Congress 823 474
13 Upasana Prasad Indian National Congress 1,166 Ranjana Jha Bharatiya Janata Party 1,165 1
14 B. Eswar Rao Bharatiya Janata Party 1,210 Nand Kishore Indian National Congress 1,076 134
15 C. H. Babu Bharatiya Janata Party 1,210 B. Padmanabham Telugu Desam Party 823 387
16 S. Usha Bharatiya Janata Party 706 Zubaida Begum Indian National Congress 357 349
17 Dharmendra Narayan Independent 1,150 Pradeep Narayan Indian National Congress 497 653
18 Rubana Aziz Bharatiya Janata Party 2,248 Seena Meshack Indian National Congress 954 1,294
19 K. Muthu Indian National Congress 925 N. Venkat Ramana Bharatiya Janata Party 860 65
20 M. Arumugam Indian National Congress 1,259 P. Surendran Bharatiya Janata Party 952 307
21 K. Arubadi Bharatiya Janata Party 1,059 R. Vimod Indian National Congress 496 563
22 Vaishali Rani Dayal Indian National Congress 631 Uma Rani Bharatiya Janata Party 454 177
23 Yashwant Lall Bharatiya Janata Party 1,026 Sanjay Meshack Independent 696 330
24 N. K. Udhaya Kumar Bharatiya Janata Party 1,154 R. P. Arumugam Telugu Desam Party 884 270

Education

[edit]

B.Ed

[edit]
  • Tagore Government College of Education

Degree

[edit]

Engineering

[edit]

Law

[edit]

Medicine

[edit]
[edit]
  • Statue of Rajiv Gandhi
    Statue of Rajiv Gandhi
  • Sunset in the bay
    Sunset in the bay
  • Gandhi statue, Gandhi park
    Gandhi statue, Gandhi park
  • Seaside Road
    Seaside Road
  • Cellular Jail
    Cellular Jail
  • Port Blair Science Centre
    Port Blair Science Centre
  • Jaljeevshala Aquarium
    Jaljeevshala Aquarium
  • Aberdeen clock tower
    Aberdeen clock tower
  • Memorial for the 1859 Battle of Aberdeen
    Memorial for the 1859 Battle of Aberdeen
  • Port Blair Jain temple
    Port Blair Jain temple

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Census of India Search details". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Port Blair City". Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Port Blair Info" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Port Blair renamed as Sri Vijaya Puram, announces Amit Shah". Deccan Herald. PTI. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Andaman and Nicobar command". NIC. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  6. ^ "The Cool, Wild and Very Remote Andaman Islands". New York Times. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar capital, renamed as Sri Vijaya Puram". India TV. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  8. ^ Ghai, Rajat (27 November 2018). "Leave the Sentinelese alone". downtoearth.org.in. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  9. ^ US Man's Body Should Be Left Alone, As Should The Andaman Tribe: Experts, NDTV, 27 November 2018.
  10. ^ "The Hindu : Notorious once, it stands shrouded in silence now". Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) T. Ramakrishnan, "Notorious Once, It Stands Shrouded in Silence"
  11. ^ http://www.galenfrysinger.com/ross_island.htm Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Ross Island
  12. ^ Jayant Dasgupta (2002). Japanese in Andaman & Nicobar Islands: red sun over black water. Manas Publications. ISBN 978-81-7049-138-5.
  13. ^ Khanna, Pretika (24 May 2016). "13 cities included in Phase 1 of Smart Cities Mission". LiveMint. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  14. ^ a b c "WMO Climate Normals for 1991-2020: Port Blair" (CSV). ncei.noaa.gov. NOAA. Retrieved 22 March 2024. WMO Station Number: 43333
  15. ^ "Station: Port Blair Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 619–620. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Port Blair Climatological Table 1981–2010". India Meteorological Department. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Table 3 Monthly mean duration of Sun Shine (hours) at different locations in India" (PDF). Daily Normals of Global & Diffuse Radiation (1971–2000). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Normals Data: Port Blair - India Latitude: 11.67°N Longitude: 92.72°E Height: 79 (m)". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Census Tables". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  22. ^ C-16: Population by mother tongue, India - 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (Report). Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  23. ^ Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 52nd report (July 2014 to June 2015) (PDF) (Report). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. pp. 49–53. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  24. ^ Sanjib (5 March 2015). "Port Blair city all set for expansion; PBMC to have 24 wards". ANDAMAN SHEEKHA. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Port Blair City Limit to be Expanded". The New Indian Express. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Panchayat, Municipal Polls In Andaman and Nicobar Islands On Sunday". NDTV.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Panchayat and Municipal Elections-2022 BJP & Congress win 10 seats each, TDP bags 2, DMK & Independent Candidate won 1 seat each in Municipal Election :: The Daily Telegrams". dt.andaman.gov.in. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  28. ^ Sanjib (16 March 2022). "U Kavitha from BJP elected as Chairperson of Port Blair Municipal Council for the first year term". ANDAMAN SHEEKHA. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  29. ^ PTI (17 March 2022). "BJP councillor elected new chairperson of Port Blair Municipal Council". ThePrint. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  30. ^ sanjib (14 March 2023). "Mrs. Selvi elected as Chairperson of PBMC". ANDAMAN SHEEKHA. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  31. ^ Karthick, Tarun (14 March 2023). "TDP Councillor Selvi from Ward Number 5 is the Next PBMC Chairperson". Nicobar Times. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  32. ^ "Results of Panchayat & Municipal Elections 2015 Declared". www.andamanchronicle.net. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  33. ^ PTI (17 March 2022). "BJP councillor elected new chairperson of Port Blair Municipal Council". ThePrint. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  34. ^ "Election Department". db.and.nic.in. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
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