Port Blair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 11.40'29.32° N 92.44'52.60° E

Port Blair
Port Blair
Union territory  - District(s)	Andaman and Nicobar Islands  - Andamans
Coordinates	11.40'29.32° N 92.44'52.60° E
Area
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001)  - Density	100,186  -

Port Blair pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: पोर्ट ब्लेयर) (coordinates: 11°40′N 92°45′E) is the largest town and a municipal council in Andamans district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. It lies on the east coast of South Andaman Island and is the main entry point to the islands.

It is also the headquarters for the Indian district of Andaman, and the local administrative sub-division (tehsil), which is also called Port Blair.

It is also home to several museums and a major base for the Indian Coast Guard.

Contents 1 History 2 Demographics 3 Transportation 4 Images

[edit] History

The town is named for Archibald Blair of the British East India Company, who founded a nearby penal colony in 1789. Port Blair was founded by the British in 1858, the Cellular Jail surviving from this period. It is also known as "Kala Pani" translated as "Black Waters"

For a time during 1943 and 1944, Port Blair was the headquarters of the Indian National Army government under Subhash Chandra Bose.

Although damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, Port Blair survived sufficiently to act as a base for relief efforts in the islands.

Known as the Emerald Islands, its a recommended site for tourist, with its lush green forest and the blue of the sea.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Port Blair had a population of 100,186. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Port Blair has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 72%. In Port Blair, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Transportation

The capital town is Port Blair,with ship sailing to and from mainland India. Vir Savarkar Airport is situated in the city and is serviced by Indian,Air Deccan,Air Sahara and Jet Airways.There are ferry service to all the islands almost daily.

[edit] Images

Center of Port Blair in December 2004, a couple of days before the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Chatham Island off Port Blair

State and Union Territory capitals of India

Agartala • Aizawl • Bangalore • Bhopal • Bhubaneswar • Chandigarh • Chennai (Madras) • Daman • Dehradun • Delhi • Dispur • Gandhinagar • Gangtok • Hyderabad • Imphal • Itanagar • Jaipur • Jammu • Kavaratti • Kohima • Kolkata (Calcutta) • Lucknow • Mumbai (Bombay) • Panaji • Patna • Puducherry • Port Blair • Raipur • Ranchi • Shillong • Shimla • Silvassa • Srinagar • Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)