Andaman
& Nicobar (UT)
Government
Capital
Port
Blair
Provisional
Numbers in Census 2011
Andaman & Nicobar Islands population
as percentage of India : 0.03%
Population in 2011 : 3 79 944
Capital
Port Blair
Principal Languages
Hindi, Nicobarese, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam,
Telugu
History
and Geography
The Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, is situated between 6° and 14°
North Latitude and 92° and 94° East Longitude.
The islands located north of 10° north latitude
are known as Andaman Group of islands while
islands located south of 10° north latitude
are called Nicobar Group of islands. The
climate of the islands can be defined as
humid, tropical coastal climate. The islands
receive rainfall from both the south west
and north east monsoons and maximum precipitation
is between May & December.
The
original inhabitants of the islands lived
in the forests on hunting and fishing. There
are four Negrito tribes, viz., the Great
Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinalese
in the Andaman group of islands and two
Mongoloid tribes, viz., Nicobarese and Shompens
in the Nicobar group of islands.
Agriculture
A total of 51,694.35 hect. of area 8068.71
hectares under agriculture and plantation
in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was damaged
by Tsunami/Earthquake. Out of that paddy
and other field crops is 2177.70 ha. and
5891.01 ha. under plantation crops. Area
under permanent submergence is 4206.64 hect.
with paddy and other field crops.
Paddy,
the main food crop, is mostly cultivated
in Andaman group of Islands, whereas Coconut
and Areca nut are the cash crops of Nicobar
group of Islands. Field crops, namely, pulses,
oilseeds and vegetable are grown followed
by paddy during Rabi season. Different kinds
of fruits such as mango, sapota, orange,
banana, papaya, pineapple and root crops
are grown on hilly land owned by the farmers.
Spices, viz. pepper, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon
are grown under multitier cropping system.
Rubber, red oil, palm and cashew are grown
on a limited scale in these Islands.
Industry
There are 1833 registered MSMEs and Handicrafts
Units as on 31 March 2007. Two units are
100 per cent export oriented units in the
line of Fish/Prawn processing activity.
Apart from this, there are shells and wood
based handicraft units. SSI units are engaged
in the production of paints and varnishes,
mini flour mills, soft drinks and beverages,
steel furniture and fixtures, readymade
garments, steel gate grills and structures.
MSMEs handicraft units are also engaged
in shell crafts, bakery products, rice-milling,
furniture-making, etc. The Andaman and Nicobar
Islands Integrated Development Corporation
in the Public sector has spread its wings
in the field of Tourism, Fisheries, Industries
and Industrial financing and functions as
authorized agents for Alliance Air/Jet Airways/Air
Deccan.
Transport
The Motor Transport Department of A &
N Administration operates from 13 stations
in Northern and Southern group of islands.
The department has a total number of 205
buses in operation mainly in rural area
of A & N islands. Computerized ticketing
for ATR express service has been implemented
w.e.f. 15th August, 2007 where advance tickets
can be obtained
During
the year 2007-08 a total of 135.88 lakh
people travelled by the State Transport
Sevice buses and the Department has generated
a revenue of Rs.1075.22 lakhs. It is therefore
evident that the Department has been making
steady progress in not only providing better
public transport service but also has been
increasing its earnings.
Forests
Recorded forest is 7,171 sq km of the total
geographical area of the islands. Many types
of forests are found in the islands, such
as tropical wet evergreen, tropical semi-evergreen,
moist deciduous, littoral, mangrove and
swamp forests. A large variety of timbers
are found in the Andaman group of islands.
The most valuable timbers are padauk and
gurjan. These species are not found in Nicobar.
Wildlife
There are 96 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 9 National
Parks and 1 Biosphere Reserve in these Islands.
Mammals
- Out of 55 terrestrial and 7 Marine mammal
species reported so far, 32 species are
endemic.
Birds
- As many as 246 species and sub species
of birds are reported to inhabit these Islands,
and of these, 99 species and sub species
are endemic.
Reptiles
- There are 76 terrestrial reptiles of these
24 species are endemic.
Marine
Life - Islands harbour more than 1,200 species
of fish, 350 species of echinoderms, 1,000
species of molluscs and many more lower
forms of life. Among vertebrates dugongs,
dolphins, whales, salt water crocodiles,
sea turtles, sea snakes, etc., are common.
Coral
and Coral reefs - So far, 179 species of
corals belonging to 61 genera have been
reported. Reefs are mostly fringing type
on eastern coast and barrier type on the
western.
Tourism
Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been recognised
as an eco-friendly tourist’s destination.
As a tourist paradise, these islands have
something very special to offer like Cellular
Jail, Ross Island and Havelock Island.
The
Andaman tropical evergreen rain forests,
beautiful silver sandy beaches, serpentine
mangrove-lines creeks, marine life abounding
in rare species of plants, animals, corals,
etc., provide a memorable experience to
the tourists. There is tremendous scope
for enjoying nature in the beach resorts,
water sports and adventure water sports,
adventure tourism like trekking, Island
camping, Nature trail, Scuba Diving, etc.
Tourism
Department runs guest houses in various
parts of the Islands for comfortable accommodation
to tourists visiting these Islands. The
important places of tourist interest are
Anthropological Museum. Marine Museum, Water
Sports Complex, Gandhi Park, North Bay,
Viper Island, Ross Island, Chidiyatapu,
(Bird watching), Red Skin Island, Corbyn’s
cove Beach, Islands like Neil Island, Havelock
Island, Cinque, Little Andaman, Diglipur
(Ross and Smith), etc.
As
regards the connectivity, the islands are
well connected to the mainland by air and
sea. Indian Airlines, Air Deccan, Jetlite
operates to Portblair from Kolkata and Chennai.
There are regular passenger ship service
from Chennai, Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam.
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