Port Blair

Port Blair ( pronunciation (help·info)) 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 is the territory's only
notified town.
 Port Blair
City

Clockwise from top:

Aerial view of Port Blair, Seaside Road, Port Blair Science Centre, Cellular Jail, Jaljeevshala Aquarium,
Beach in Port Blair

Port Blair
 Coordinates: 11°40′06″N 92°44′16″E (https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Port_Blair
&params=11_40_06_N_92_44_16_E_type:city_region:IN)

Country  India
Union Territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands
District South Andaman
Location in the Andaman and Nicobar
Government
Islands
 • Type Mayor–Council
Show map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
 • Body Port Blair Municipal Council (PBMC)
Show map of Bay of Bengal
Area [2][3]
Show all
 • Total 41 km2 (16 sq mi)
Elevation 16 m (52 ft)
Population (2011)[2][3][1]
 • Total 140,572[1]
Time zone UTC+5.30 (IST)
Climate Am

Port Blair serves as the entry point for visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port Blair is
connected with mainland India by both air and sea. It is a 2-to-3-hour flight from mainland India
to Port Blair's Veer Savarkar International Airport, and 3–4 days by sea to reach Kolkata,
Chennai, or Visakhapatnam from Haddo Wharf in Port Blair. It is home to several museums and
a 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 of the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Air Force.[4]

Port Blair is also famous for the historic Cellular Jail and other small islands like Corbyn's Cove,
Wandoor, Ross Island, Viper Island and so forth,[5] which were once home to British colonists.
Port Blair has been selected as one of the cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart
Cities Mission.[6]
Andaman Club in Port Blair

History

The Ross Island Prison Headquarters, 1872

Pre-history

The indigenous inhabitants are the Andamenese. 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,[7][8] although they are likely to
have diverged from the inhabitants of the mainland significantly earlier.

Modern history
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 salt swamp which 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.[9] These structures now lie in ruins.[10]

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 towards its Indian
convicts.

The airport at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar's capital, has been named Veer Savarkar
International Airport. The commemorative blue plaque on India House fixed by the Historic
Building and Monuments Commission for England reads "Vinayak Damodar Savarkar 1883–
1966 Indian patriot and philosopher lived here."

In World War II the islands were occupied by the Japanese on 23 March 1942 without opposition
from the garrison. From 1943–44, Port Blair served as the headquarters of the Azad Hind
government under Subhas Chandra Bose. British forces returned to the islands in October
1945.[11]
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.

Climate

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.
 Climate data for Port Blair (1981–2010, extremes 1901–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Record high 32.7
34.6
35.4
36.4
36.4
35.6
32.8
32.5
35.4
35.6
34.
°C (°F) (90.9) (94.3) (95.7) (97.5) (97.5) (96.1) (91.0) (90.5) (95.7) (96.1) (93.2
Mean
30.7
31.4
33.1
33.8
33.3
31.3
30.8
30.5
30.7
31.1
31.2
maximum
(87.3) (88.5) (91.6) (92.8) (91.9) (88.3) (87.4) (86.9) (87.3) (88.0) (88.2
°C (°F)
Average 29.5
30.2
31.3
32.3
31.2
29.8
29.4
29.2
29.2
29.7
29.8
high °C (°F) (85.1) (86.4) (88.3) (90.1) (88.2) (85.6) (84.9) (84.6) (84.6) (85.5) (85.
Daily mean 26.0
26.3
27.2
28.2
27.7
26.9
26.6
26.5
26.2
26.4
26.8
°C (°F) (78.8) (79.3) (81.0) (82.8) (81.9) (80.4) (79.9) (79.7) (79.2) (79.5) (80.2
Average low 22.4
22.1
22.7
24.1
24.2
23.9
23.8
23.6
23.0
23.0
23.3
°C (°F) (72.3) (71.8) (72.9) (75.4) (75.6) (75.0) (74.8) (74.5) (73.4) (73.4) (73.9
Mean
18.8
19.4
20.0
22.2
21.9
20.9
21.4
21.1
21.1
21.4
21.
minimum °C
(65.8) (66.9) (68.0) (72.0) (71.4) (69.6) (70.5) (70.0) (70.0) (70.5) (70.0
(°F)
Record low 14.8
15.9
16.2
17.3
17.1
14.6
18.0
17.4
16.8
17.8
17.3
°C (°F) (58.6) (60.6) (61.2) (63.1) (62.8) (58.3) (64.4) (63.3) (62.2) (64.0) (63.
Average
32.1
16.8
32.5
75.8
368.8
448.2
442.5
446.4
458.3
301.4
242
rainfall mm
(1.26) (0.66) (1.28) (2.98) (14.52) (17.65) (17.42) (17.57) (18.04) (11.87) (9.54
(inches)
Average
1.4 1.0 1.6 4.1 15.9 18.8 18.6 19.1 18.8 15.5 11.
rainy days
Average
relative
humidity 74 72 72 74 81 84 84 85 87 85 82
(%)
(at 17:30 IST)
Mean
monthly
266.6 265.6 266.6 237.0 158.1 90.0 102.3 99.2 117.0 167.4 189
sunshine
hours
Mean daily
sunshine 8.6 9.4 8.6 7.9 5.1 3.0 3.3 3.2 3.9 5.4 6.3
hours
Source 1: India Meteorological Department[12][13][14][15]
Source 2: Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1981–2010)[16]

Tourism
Port Blair being the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the entry point for all tourism
related activities. You will first have to arrive to Port Blair before moving any other islands in
Andaman. At Port Blair, the major tourist places to visit is the Cellular Jail, Corbyns Cove Beach,
North Bay Island, Ross Island renamed to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Chidiatapu,
Wandoor and other museums that are present within city limits. Entry charges are applicable to
some of the tourist places.[17]

Demographics

As of 2011 India census,[18] 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

Bengali is the most spoken language of the city, followed by Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.

Religion

Religion in Port Blair

Religion Percent
Hinduism 74.3%
Islam 12.4%
Christianity 12.4%
Others 0.9%

Sri Vettimalai Mutugan temple in Port Blair

The most common religion is Hinduism, followed by Christianity and Islam.

Literacy

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%.

Education

B.Ed
Tagore Government College of Education

Degree
Andaman and Nicobar college

Jawaharlal Nehru Government College

Engineering
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Institute of Technology

Law
Andaman Law College

Medicine
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences

Gallery
 Statue of Rajiv Gandhi

Sunset in the bay

Gandhi statue, Gandhi park

 Seaside Road

Cellular Jail

Port Blair Science Centre

Jaljeevshala Aquarium

Aberdeen clock tower

 Memorial for the 1859 Battle of Aberdeen

Port Blair Jain temple

See also

Cellular Jail

Charles James Lyall

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Ross Island

Havelock Island

References

1. "Census of India Search details" (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=707966) .

 censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 10 May 2015.

2. "Port Blair City" (https://testpbmc.andaman.gov.in/about) .

3. "Port Blair Info" (http://amrut.gov.in/upload/saap/5a5f11b5d1473AndamanNicobarIslands.pdf) (PDF).

4. "Andaman and Nicobar command" (http://ids.nic.in/ancommand.htm) . NIC. Retrieved 1 July 2013.

5. "Places to visit in Port Blair" (http://www.andamansguide.com/place-to-visit-in-port-blair) .

Andamansguide. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.

6. Khanna, Pretika (24 May 2016). "13 cities included in Phase 1 of Smart Cities Mission" (http://www.livemi
nt.com/Politics/kMLIQKW3xIqOUzFJ5sZadN/Smart-cities-More-names-of-cities-to-be-announced-toda
y.html) . LiveMint. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

7. Ghai, Rajat (27 November 2018). "Leave the Sentinelese alone" (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/intervie
ws/environment/-leave-the-sentinelese-alone--61317) . downtoearth.org.in. Retrieved 3 February 2019.

8. US Man's Body Should Be Left Alone, As Should The Andaman Tribe: Experts (https://www.ndtv.com/indi
a-news/call-off-search-for-us-mans-body-on-sentinelese-island-in-andamans-conservationists-to-police-1
953876) , NDTV, 27 November 2018.

9. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081227180955/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fe

atures/andaman/stories/2004081500270300.htm) . Archived from the original on 27 December 2008.
Retrieved 27 December 2008. T. Ramakrishnan, "Notorious Once, It Stands Shrouded in Silence"

10. http://www.galenfrysinger.com/ross_island.htm Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201603041057

37/http://www.galenfrysinger.com/ross_island.htm) 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Ross
Island

11. Jayant Dasgupta (2002). Japanese in Andaman & Nicobar Islands: red sun over black water (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=aw5uAAAAMAAJ) . Manas Publications. ISBN 978-81-7049-138-5.

12. "Station: Port Blair Climatological Table 1981–2010" (https://web.archive.org/web/20200205040301/htt

p://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/1981-2010%20CLIM%20NORMALS%20%28STATWISE%29.pdf) (PDF).
Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 619–620.
Archived from the original (https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/1981-2010%20CLIM%20NORMALS%2
0%28STATWISE%29.pdf) (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.

13. "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (https://web.archive.org/web/2020
0205042509/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%20RAIN
FALL%20upto%202012.pdf) (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M4. Archived
from the original (https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%2
0RAINFALL%20upto%202012.pdf) (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
14. "Port Blair Climatological Table 1981–2010"
(http://city.imd.gov.in/citywx/extreme/FEB/portblair2.htm) . India Meteorological Department. Retrieved
10 February 2020.

15. "Table 3 Monthly mean duration of Sun Shine (hours) at different locations in India" (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20200205042602/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/Daily%20Normals%20of%20Global%20&%
20Diffused%20Radiations%20%201971_2000.pdf) (PDF). Daily Normals of Global & Diffuse Radiation
(1971–2000). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M-3. Archived from the original (http
s://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/Daily%20Normals%20of%20Global%20&%20Diffused%20Radiations%2
0%201971_2000.pdf) (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.

16. "Normals Data: Port Blair - India Latitude: 11.67°N Longitude: 92.72°E Height: 79 (m)" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20200301162303/https://ds.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/tcc/tcc/products/climate/normal/parts/Nr
mMonth_e.php?stn=43333) . Japan Meteorological Agency. Archived from the original (https://ds.data.j
ma.go.jp/gmd/tcc/tcc/products/climate/normal/parts/NrmMonth_e.php?stn=43333) on 1 March
2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.

17. "Port Blair Andaman Islands" (https://www.experienceandamans.com/andaman-tourism/port-blair) .

18. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)" (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state
5=999) . Census Commission of India. Archived from the original (http://www.censusindia.net/results/t
own.php?stad=A&state5=999) on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.

External links

Port Blair travel guide from Wikivoyage

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Port Blair.

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Port_Blair&oldid=1090777656"

Last edited 1 month ago by Pratyk321