Port Blair

Port Blair (pronunciation ) is the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (tehsil) of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South Andaman, and is the territory's only notified town. It houses the headquarters of the Andaman and Nicobar Police and the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the first integrated tri-command of the armed forces of India.

Transportation

Port Blair also serves as the entry point for visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port Blair is connected with mainland India by both air and sea. It is a 2-hour flight from mainland India to Port Blair, but it takes 3–4 days by sea to reach Chennai, Kolkata or Vishakhapatnam. Air connectivity to Port Blair is available from Chennai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar and Vishakhapatnam. All flights bound to Andaman and Nicobar Islands land at the Veer Savarkar International Airport. Sea connectivity is available from Chennai, Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam are embarked in Haddo Wharf Port. It is home to several museums and a major naval base INS Jarawa of the Indian Navy, along with sea and air bases of the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Air Force.^[1] Port Blair is also famous for the historic Cellular Jail and other small islands like Carbyns Cove, Wandoor, Ross, Viper etc.^[2] which were once home to British colonists.

Port Blair has been selected as one of the cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission.^[3]

Population

As of 2011^[update] India census,^[4] Port Blair had a population of 100,608. Males constitute 52.92% (53,247) of the population and females 47.07% (47,361). Port Blair has an average literacy rate of 89.76%, higher than the national average that is 74.04%. In Port Blair, male literacy is 92.79%, and female literacy is 86.34%. 9.3% of the population is under the age of 6 years. The most common religion is Hinduism, followed by Christianity and Islam. Bengali is the most spoken language of the city, followed by Hindi and Tamil.

References

1. "Andaman and Nicobar command". NIC. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
2. "Places to visit in Port Blair". Andamansguide. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
3. Khanna, Pretika (2016-05-24). "13 cities included in Phase 1 of Smart Cities Mission". LiveMint. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
4. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.