Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : Does not figure
in list of 447 backward districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 56
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : D
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 -2006)
Disability : 590 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 164 (Census 2001)
Minority : Yes
Challenges of the district : Our research with local communities
My daily wage comes to around Rs. 150/-. However
My Income depends on how many days I work. There are some times
when I sit with no work for almost three to four days at a stretch.
My salary is used mostly in the first fifteen days of the month.
We don’t have sufficient food and have no money to buy medicines.
I want my child to study well and be successful unlike me. However
the free education of the government schools is not good.
Brief About Nicobar District
The Nicobar Islands are situated in the South-east of the
Bay of Bengal between 6 degree – 10 degree N latitude and between
92 degree- 94 degree E longitude. There are altogether 22 large
and small islands, out of which only twelve have inhabitants.
The most northerly island of the group is Car
Nicobar, which is 143 miles from Port Blair and the ten degree
channel about 75 miles separate in from Little Andaman. Chowra,
Teressa, Bompoka, Katchal, Kamorta, Nancowry and Trinket form
the central group of Nicobar islands ; while in the southern group
are Pulo Milo, Little Nicobar, Kondul, Great Nicobar and so on.
The extreme southern point of Great Nicobar, previously known
as Pygmalion Point and now Indira Point, is about 91 geographical
miles from Pulo Brass of Achin Head of Sumatra. The uninhabited
islands in the central and southern group are Batti Malv, Tileangchong
and Meroe , Trak, Treis, Menchal and Kabra respectively. The Nicobars
stretch over 36 miles, with an aggregate of 635 sq. miles.
ORIGIN OF NAME
Falling between the sea route from South India
/ Sri Lanka to South East Asia and vice-vers, the voyagers referred
it as “land of the nake” i.e. Nakkavar which is perhaps the direct
Predecessor of the current name “Nicobar’. The medieval Arabic
name ‘Lankhabatus’ is a mere mistranscription and misapprehension
of “Nankakar or Nakkavar”. Lord Ram, the hero of epic ‘Ramayana’
is meant to have passed through the Islands during his period
of exile )Mathur: 1967). Somdev’s ‘Kathasaritsagar’ (11th century)
indicates it as ‘Narikel Dweep’. The islands have also been mentioned
in the accounts of travellers like Fahien, (6th century); I-T’sing
(early 7th century); Ptolemy (2nd century); Marco Polo (13th century)
and Friar Oderic (early 14th century). The islands were known
in China as Lo-Jan Kuo (land of the naked people) according to
the writings of I-T’Sing. An inscription dated (1059 AD) of the
Chola King of Tanjore indicates that these islands were used as
base shelter station for waging war and keeping control over South
East Asia. The geographical names for the different islands have
all obscure, complicated and interesting histories, whereas, each
island has a native name too.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Car Nicobar is remarkably flat except for some
cliffs in the north and small hilly areas in the interior. It
is bordered by a silvery beach and areas of flat ground consisting
of coraline diluvium.
Nancowry and Kamorta, have a hilly terrain covered
with grass, forming undulating meadows. Empress Peak is about
1.420 ft. high and is the highest in Kamorta. The Nancowry harbour,
with two entrances towards the east and west, is one of the finest
and safest harbours in the world. Katchal is one of the largest
islands in the central group. It is abut 61 sq. miles in area.
It is slightly hilly in the centre but has a remarkable flat area,
like Car Nicobar. Katchal has the most suitable soil for paddy
cultivation. Trinket is another small flat island. It is located
at the eastern entrance to Nancowry harbour. Chowra is almost
flat, except for a hill which is located at its southern tip.
Like Car Nicobar it has no safe berthing and the coral formation
around the island is reported to be a great impediment to anchoring
vessels.
Teressa and Bompoka are also hilly. The former
has a considerable flat area, while the latter has a few flat
spaces around the western coast. Tillangchong has hills of elevations
above 1,000 ft.
Great Nicobar is the southernmost land mass of
the Nicobar group of Islands. Most of this island is hilly and
undulating. The main hill range runs from north to south. Mount
Thullier which is about 2,105 ft high is the highest peak. Galathea,
Alexandra and Dagmar are the major rivers. Kondul and Little Nicobar
are also hilly and undulating.
As the Nicobars apparently lie directly in the
local line of greatest weakness, severe earthquakes are to be
expected, and have occurred many times. Stocks of great violence
were recorded in 1847, 1881 (with tidal waves), and many times
during 20th century. The tidal waves caused by the explosion of
Krakatoa in the Straits of Sunda in 1883, were severely felt.
