ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR GUIDE |
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Andaman Nicobar island also known as emerland
islands. An archipelago of 572 islands adrift in
the Bay of Bengal, the union territory of
Andaman & Nicobar islands stretches over an area
of more than 700 km. Since pre-historic times
aboriginal tribes have lived on these islands.
The Andaman group is inhabited by the Mongloid
stock. The first settlement of the British took
place in 1789 and later in 1858 it became a
penal settlement. These island are an amazing
racial and cultural mix. For the nature lover
the islands offer rich and varied delights.
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR INFORMATION |
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| The sea around offers ample scope for water sports while the island themselves consists of their territory lush green forest cover extending over 86% of the territory. The rarest of rare flora and fauna have flourished undisturbed on these islands, more so because 36 out of these are inhabited. Adventure sports like trekking, island camping, snorkeling and scuba diving are the not to be missed attractions. And of tourist who want to get away from the madding crowd, a visit to these islands remains etched in the memory forever.
The Nicobars, which
comprise 19 small islands, are separated from the
Andamans by a channel that is 90 mi (145 km) wide. The
native population is of Mongolic stock. The Nicobars
became a British possession in 1869. Japanese forces
occupied both archipelagos during World War II.Since
World War II and Indian independence, some of the
islands have undergone significant population growth and
economic development, include Indian military bases, and
regular air and ship services connect the islands with
the mainland. The islands were especially hard hit by
the Dec., 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami, because of their
relative closeness to the epicenter (off NW Sumatra) of
the earthquake that caused the waves. |
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR FACTS AND FIGURES |
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Andaman & Nicobar at a Glance ...
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Area:
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8,249 sq km |
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Capital: |
Port Blair |
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Languages:
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Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Hindi,
English |
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Religion: |
Hindu |
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Altitude: |
Varies from sea level to 732 meters |
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Average Annual Rainfall: |
3180.0 mm |
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Best
Time to visit: |
October to May |
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR HISTORY |
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| The Andaman and Nicobar Islands together
with the rest of India, became Independent on August
15th, 1947. The Bengalis are the major population group
which came to the Andamans after Independence. They came
as 'settlers' under the Government rehabilitaion scheme,
whcih started as early as 1949 and continued till the
1970s. All these groups migrated to the Andamans from
different districts of East Pakistan ( now Bangladesh).
The Bengalis are primarily distributed in the different
villages of North, Middle and South Andamans. The
rehabilitated settlers of Great Nicobar are the
Ex-servicemen. Ex-servicemen were rehabilated according
to the rules of the District Soldier, Sailor, Airmen
Board, formerly known as the Ex-servemen Association and
the Indian Ex-servicemen League. The first batch of
Ex-servicemen came to the island in 1969. Others, from
different parts of the mainland followed in
1970,1974,1977,1979 and 1980. These settlers include
among others, Punjabis, Marathis, Malyalis and Tamilians.
New rules and legislation were enacted and a Chief
Commissioner directly nominated by the President of
India headed the islands. On November 12, 1982, the post
of Chief Commissioner was elevated to the rank of Lt.
Governor. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands now send one
elected representative to the Lok Sabha. |
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS |
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Havelock Island (Andaman) » Baren Island (Andaman) » Rangat (Andaman) » Mayabunder (Andaman) » Diglipur (Andaman) » Long Island (Andaman) » Car
Nicobar (Nicobar) » Katchal (Nicobar) » Great Nicobar (Nicobar) » Gandhi Park (Port Blair) » Mini Zoo (Port Blair) » Ross Island (Port Blair)
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR FAIRS AND FESTIVALS |
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This fifteen-day long festival of dance, drama and music
showcases the arts and crafts, flora and fauna and
marine life of Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Aqua sports, tele-games and parasailing are added
attractions. Dance performances from the troupes
residing in different islands are organized. Cultural
troupes and artistes of national and international fame
are invited to perform during the festival apart from
performances by the local tribals. Water sports
competitions like Nicobari Hodi race are organized. The
festival projects the image of the islands as an eco
friendly tourist destination.Other attractions are Magic
show, Puppet show, Floating restaurant, Baby show, Dog
show, Canoe Race, Scuba Diving etc. |
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HOW TO REACH |
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By Air :
Indian airlines connects Port Blair with Chennai
and Calcutta. Jet airways, operates daily from and to
Chennai.
By Sea:
There are ships sailing from Madras &
Calcutta Ports and occasionally from Vishakhapatnam. The
journey takes approx 3 days. |
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR MAJOR ISLANDS |
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| Port Blair » Kalighat » Barren Island » Car
Nicobar » Maya Bunder » Neil Island » Cinque Island » Katchal Nicobar |
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ART AND CRAFT |
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The main Craft of the andaman & Nicobar Island include
shell and exotic woods crafted for the tourists, palm
mats, And beautiful, natural shalls. Due to the fear of
over exploitation of the island natural resources, trade
of some product is new banned. |
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ECONOMY |
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Agriculture: A total of 48,675 hecatres of land is used
for agriculture purposes. Paddy, the main food crop, is
mostly cultivated in Andaman group of islands, whereas
coconut and arecanut are the cash crops of Nicobar group
of islands. Field crops, namely, pulses, oilseeds and
vegetables 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 farmers. Spices, viz.,
pepper, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon are grown under
multi-tier cropping system. Rubber, red oil, palm and
cashew are grown on a limited scale in these
islands.Industry:There are 1,374 registered small scale,
village and handicrafts units. Two units are export
oriented in the line of fish processing activity. Apart
from this, there are shell and wood based handicraft
units. There are also four medium sized industrial
units. SSI units are engaged in the production of
polythene bags, PVC conduit pipes and fittings, paints
and varnished, fibre glass and mini flour mills, soft
drinks and beverages, etc. Small scale and handicraft
units are also engaged in shell crafts, bakery products,
rice milling, furniture making , etc. The Andaman and
Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation has
spread its wings in the field of tourism, fisheries,
industries and industrial financing and functions as
authorised agents for Alliance Airways. |
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