| Chennai Lighthouse | |
| Location | Kamarajar Salai, Marina Beach, Santhome, Chennai |
|---|---|
| Year first constructed | 1796 (First tower) 1844 (Second tower) 1894 (Third tower) 1977 (Current tower) |
| Year first lit | 1977 (Current tower) |
| Foundation | Reinforced concrete (Current location) |
| Construction | RCC |
| Tower shape | Triangular cylindrical with lantern and double gallery |
| Markings / pattern | Horizontal red and white bands |
| Height | 46 metres (151 ft) |
| Focal height | 57 metres (187 ft) above MSL |
| Original lens | 375 mm 3rd order revolving optic inside 2.5 m dia lantern house (BBT) |
| Intensity | 110V 3000W Incandescent Lamp |
| Range | 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi) |
| Characteristic | Two white flashes every 10 seconds |
| Admiralty number | F 0936 |
| NGA number | 27072 |
| ARLHS number | IND-010[1] |
The Madras Light House (Tamil: சென்னைக் கலங்கரை விளக்கம்) is a lighthouse facing the Bay of Bengal on the east coast of the Indian Subcontinent. It is a famous landmark on the Marina Beach in Chennai, India. It was built by the East Coast Constructions and Industries in 1976 replacing the old lighthouse in the northern direction. The lighthouse was opened in January 1977. It also houses the meteorological department and is restricted to visitors. It is one of the few lighthouses in the world and the only one in India with an elevator.[2]
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The lighthouse is located on Kamarajar Salai (Beach Road) opposite the office of the Director General of Tamil Nadu Police and All India Radio's Chennai station. The lighthouse marks the end of the promenade on the northern half of the Marina Beach. It is also the junction where Kamarajar Salai, Santhome High Road and Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai meet. The lighthouse and the surrounding areas are served by the Light House MRTS train station located nearby on Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai .
The present lighthouse is the fourth lighthouse of Chennai. Before the end of the 18th century, when Madras was an open sea shore, where goods were loaded and unloaded from boats, bonfire lit by fisherwomen was used to guide the menfolk to the shore. The arrangement of exhibiting light to assist British East India Company's vessels arriving at Madras and to enter the port during the 17th and 18th centuries is not known since no record is available. The first conventional lighthouse started functioning in 1796 when the terrace of the officer's mess-cum-exchange building (the present day's Fort Museum at Fort St. George) was chosen as the site for the first warning beacon which used a large lantern to aid vessels approaching the port in preventing the risk of shoals of Covelong in the south and the hidden sand banks in the north. This lighthouse with the oil wick lamp functioned till 1841.
The second light house was erected during 1838-1844 on the north side of Fort St. George. In the early 19th century, the area west of Fort St. George was the buffer zone between the Black Town and the fort which has come to be known as George Town. In 1762, a fire destroyed this area including two temples, the Chenna Kesavapperumal temple and the Chenna Malleeswarar temple that flourished in the area. The colonial government took possession of this land and facilitated the construction of these temples near the Flower Bazaar and constructed a new lighthouse on this land. The construction of this regular lighthouse tower in the compound of the present High Court was taken up in 1838 and completed in 1840 on which the wick lamp was shifted as the supply of the new equipment by Stone Chance, Birmingham was delayed. The new flashing light consisting of Argand lamps and reflectors started functioning from 1 January 1844. This lighthouse was 125 feet in height and was functioning for the next 50 years until 1894. As the British government felt the height of this lighthouse was not sufficient, it decided to build a new, taller lighthouse. Today, this second lighthouse is under the watch of the Department of Archaeology as a protected monument.[3]
In 1886, during the reconstruction of the Madras Port after a cyclone, the port officer wrote to the Madras government alerting them of a possible threat to vessel traffic in the region from a Tripasore reef spotted around 40 miles south of Madras near Seven Pagodas (now known as Mamallapuram). The port officer then recommended that a lighthouse be installed to alert ships about the impending danger. Responding to this, the government shifted this lighthouse equipment with lantern onto the dome of the new High Court building. This became the third lighthouse of Chennai and was functioning from the tallest dome of the Madras High Court. It started functioning on 1 June 1894, with Argand lamps and reflectors manufactured by Chance Bros, Birmingham which had originally been installed in the 160-ft-tall lighthouse tower. This lighthouse later became crucial for the development of the Madras port.
An improvement of equipment was introduced in 1927. This was later decommissioned after the present one was constructed on the Marina beach near Santhome in 1976, which was unveiled on 10 January 1977. An electrical lighthouse equipment manufactured by BBT, Paris was installed on the new tower, which maintains a range of 28 nautical miles for vessels and is one of the tallest lighthouses in the country.[4]
Coconut oil was considered the best fuel for a lighthouse lamp because it made the light burn bright in the lighthouse. Gas lights were used later followed by dischargeable lamps. In the beginning, lighthouse lamp had a steady flame. When ships began to confuse this with city lights, it was decided to use a flickering light in light houses. The lighthouses at Chennai and Mamallapuram use dischargeable lamps, which rotate inside a bowl of mercury. In recent days, LED lights are preferred.
The Chennai Lighthouse, along with 23 other lighthouses along the eastern, southern and western coast of the Indian peninsula, comes under the administration of the Chennai Lighthouse District. In accord with the Lighthouse Act of 1927 and the Lighthouse (Amendment) Act of 1985, the Chennai Lighthouse District comprises under its jurisdiction part of Kerala State which is south of latitude 9º00'N and state of Tamil Nadu, which is south of latitude 13º00'N and west of longitude 80º30'E and the union territory of Pondicherry, which include the following lighthouses:[5]
1. Alleppey
2. Kovil Thottam
3. Tangasseri Point (Quilon)
4. Anjengo
5. Vilinjam
6. Muttam Point
7. Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin)
8. Manappad Point
9. Pandiyan Tivu DGPS
10. Kilakkarai
11. Point Calimere
12. Kodikkarai
13. Ammpattinam DGPS
14. Pasipattinam
15. Rameswaram
16. Pamban
17. Nagapattinam DGPS
18. Karaikal
19. Porto Novo
20. Cuddalore Channel Buoyage
21. Pondicherry Lighthouse and DGPS
22. Mahabalipuram
23. Madras (Chennai)
24. Pulicat DGPS
The director general at the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships located at Noida has under him or her four deputy director generals, namely, Jamnagar, Chennai, Kolkata and the head quarter. For administrative control, the entire coastline has been divided into seven districts having their regional headquarters at Jamanagar, Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata and Port Blair. The Chennai Lighthouse District is administrated under the Regional Director (Chennai), who along with the Regional Director (Cochin) comes under the deputy director general (Chennai).[6] The Regional Office at Chennai provides information on the geographical region between Alleppey Lighthouse to Pulicat Lighthouse. The union government is planning to build three new lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse District at an estimated cost of 25 million each.[7][8]
Located north of the port, the entrance channel tower is about 24 metres (79 ft) high with a focal plane of 26 metres (85 ft), flashing white, red and green lights, and the tower is visible only from a distance closer to the entrance channel. This tower was assigned an Admiralty number of F0938 and NGA number of 27074. This tower is still active.[9]
The first light at Madras, a lantern on the wall of the Fort St. George, is inactive since 1844.
The second lighthouse was a tall granite Doric column erected in 1841 and is located within the compound of the Madras High Court to the north of Fort St. George. This round fluted stone tower with gallery is 49 metres (161 ft) tall.[10] This tower was assigned an ARLHS number of IND-027. This tower is inactive since 1894 after it was moved atop the dome of the new High Court building built in 1892.
The lantern from the second tower was moved to one of the tallest ornate towers of the Madras High Court building, which was constructed adjacent to the second tower in 1892. It was assigned an ARLHS number of IND-026. This tower is inactive since 1977.
The present lighthouse is a triangular cylindrical concrete one with lantern and double gallery and is 11 stories high. The tower is attached to a three-story circular harbour-control building. The total height of the tower is 46 metres (151 ft) with the light source standing at a height of 57 metres (187 ft) from the mean sea level. The source consists of 440V 50 Hz main supply (with standby Genset).
The base of the present lighthouse tower was damaged by the waves from the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, but there were no reported casualties.
Chennai Lighthouse is one of the 13 lighthouses in India that are identified as heritage centres to portray maritime history of India.[11] A lighthouse museum has been planned at a cost of 50 million.[12][13] The union shipping ministry is planning to build museums, rooms, cafeteria, souvenir shop, viewers gallery, 4D cinema hall, gaming zone and aquarium at the Chennai lighthouse.[14][15]
Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships has planned the remote control and automation of lighthouses in Cochin, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata directorates at a cost of 304.5 million.[16] As a first step towards automation of lighthouses, Radone, an equipment that can detect radar signals from ships and helps captains identify the location, has been installed on most lighthouses. The automation of lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse District is estimated to cost about 50 million during the 11th Five-Year Plan.[17] The 22 lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse district will be monitored and controlled from conveniently located positions termed as Remote Control Stations (RCSs). These RCSs will be ultimately linked to Master Control Station, proposed to be located at Chennai for effective control.
| Lighthouse, Chennai | |||
| Next station north: Tiruvallikeni |
Chennai suburban railway : MRTS | Next station south: Mundagakanniamman Koil |
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| Stop Number:7 | KM from start:7.05 | ||
| These are the stations of Chennai suburban railway - MRTS |
| Chennai Beach | Chennai Fort | Park Town | Chintadripet | Chepauk | Tiruvallikeni | Light House | Mundagakanniamman Koil (u/c) | Thirumayilai | Mandaiveli | Greenways Road | Kotturpuram | Kasturba Nagar | Indira Nagar | Thiruvanmiyur | Taramani | Perungudi | Velachery |