Pulomilo Island Explained

Pulomilo
Native Name:Pilomillow, Pulo Milo
Native Name Link:Nicobarese language
Map:India Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Coordinates:7.4°N 93.69°W
Location:Bay of Bengal
Archipelago:Nicobar Islands
Waterbody:Indian Ocean
Total Islands:1
Area Km2:0.82
Area Footnotes:[1]
Length Km:1.3
Width Km:0.9
Coastline Km:4.8
Elevation M:10
Country: India
Country Admin Divisions Title:District
Country Admin Divisions:Nicobar
Country Admin Divisions Title 1:Island group
Country Admin Divisions 1:Nicobar Islands
Country Admin Divisions Title 2:Subdivisions of India
Country Admin Divisions 2:Great Nicobar Subdivision
Country Admin Divisions Title 3:Taluk
Country Admin Divisions 3:Little Nicobar
Country Largest City:Pulomilo
Country Largest City Population:20
Population:20
Population As Of:2014
Density Km2:0
Ethnic Groups:Hindu, Nicobarese
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+5:30
Postal Code:744301
Area Code:03192
Iso Code Type:ISO code
Iso Code:IN-AN-00[2]
Additional Info:
Child:yes
Label2:Literacy
Data2:82.35%
Label3:Avg. summer temperature
Data3:32°C
Label4:Avg. winter temperature
Data4:28°C
Label5:Sex ratio
Data5:/
Label7:Census code
Data7:35.638.0002.645140
Label8:Official Languages
Data8:Hindi, English, Tamil
Southern Nicobarese (regional)

Pulomilo is an island in the Nicobar district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and is home to a village of the same name. It is located just north of Little Nicobar Island.

History

Impact of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami

Pulomilo was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. There were initial fears that the entire population had been drowned,[3] but later reports showed that the island had been evacuated.[4] [5] [6]

One-hundred-five people were killed in the 2004 disaster on Pulomilo, representing 49.1% of the island's population. Of the 109 survivors, 15 (13.8%) had suffered an injury severe enough to be reportable and almost half (41 individuals) experienced diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, or a respiratory infection.

Besides the human losses, Pulomilo's economy and infrastructure were also devastated. Before the tsunami, Pulomilo residents enjoyed a few hours of electricity each night, and the village accommodated a small police post and radio house staffed on a rotational basis. The tsunami swept away most structures on the island.

Not only were buildings shattered, but the tsunami also severely eroded the villagers' ability to sustain themselves. It destroyed twenty-two of the islanders' outrigger canoes and eight boats, leaving only two embarkations in working order, and killed 823 livestock animals, including 239 pigs belonging to 25 families.[7]

Geography

Pulomilo Island has a size of 0.82km2.Before the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Pulomilo was connected to the Little Nicobar island. After the earthquake and tsunami, it became an island, as most of its land — except a small hilltop — was eroded or submerged.[8] Most of the island is covered in forests of casuarina, pandanus, and coconut palm. [9]

Administration

Pulomilo island belongs to the township of Great Nicobar of Little Nicobar Taluk.[10] [11]

Economics

Pulomilo island's main production crop is coconut in the form of copra.[12] [13] The island has no electricity, and the primary mode of transport is by boat.[12]

Tourism

Pulomilo also receives a tiny share of the Nicobar tourist trade. One late 20th-century visitor described Pulomilo as a "stunning, magnificent Island" marked by "lush, green, rain-washed coconut plantations" beyond "a golden sandy beach, behind which lay stilted thatched huts"[14]

Demographics

Pulomilo Island's sole settlement is the village of Pulomilo.According to the 2011 census data, Pulomilo has a total population of 20 individuals in 5 households.[12] [15]

The primary language spoken among the residents is the Channai Payuh dialect of Nicobari[16] and most are Christians.[13] The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of the population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 82.35%.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Islandwise Area and Population - 2011 Census. Government of Andaman. 7 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170828015509/http://andssw1.and.nic.in/ecostat/basicstatPDF2013_14/1.Demogrpahy.pdf. 28 August 2017. dead.
  2. Registration Plate Numbers added to ISO Code
  3. Web site: A queen leaves her shattered island realm . Hamish McDonald . 2005-01-12 . 2015-08-12.
  4. Book: Rajib Shaw . Recovery from the Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster . 2006 . Emerald Group Publishing . 978-1-84544-954-4 . 74.
  5. Web site: India: Weekly Tsunami Situation Report as on 24 February 2005 . A. K. Sengupta, Office of WHO Representative to India . 2005 . World Health Organization . 1 . 2015-08-12.
  6. Book: Ramakrishnan Korakandy . Fisheries Development in India: The Political Economy of Unsustainable Development, Vol. 2 . 2008 . Kalpaz Publications . 978-81-7835-634-1 . 267–368.
  7. Web site: Livestock and Poultry Germplasm of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with Special Reference to the Nicobari Pig in 'Livestock-based Livelihoods: An action programme for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Proceedings of the Seminar held in Port Blair, Andamans, 23-24 November 2006' . S. Jeyakumar & A. Kundu . Anthra . 2015-08-12 . 43.
  8. Book: Rajib Shaw . Recovery from the Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster . 2006 . Emerald Group Publishing . 978-1-84544-954-4 . 58–.
  9. Web site: Pulo Milo Island in Andaman and Nicobar, Info of Pulo Milo Island in Andaman . www.indiatravelnext.com . 14 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130520215922/http://www.indiatravelnext.com/islands-of-andaman/pulo-milo-island-in-andaman-and-nicobar.html . 20 May 2013 . dead.
  10. Web site: Tehsils . 7 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170828015509/http://andssw1.and.nic.in/ecostat/basicstatPDF2013_14/1.Demogrpahy.pdf . 28 August 2017 . dead .
  11. Web site: Andaman and Nicobar Islands villages . Land Records Information Systems Division, NIC . 2015-07-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095346/http://dolr.nic.in/dolr/mpr/revenuevillagedirectorypdf/Andaman%20Nicobar.pdf . 4 March 2016 . dead .
  12. Book: Dr. V.R. Rao . Tsunami in South Asia: Studies of Impact on Communities of Andaman and Nicobar Islands . 14 May 2007 . Allied Publishers . 9788184241891 . 40.
  13. Web site: Pulomilo Island . 2006 . Andaman & Nicobar Administration Directorate of Economics & Statistics . 2015-08-12 .
  14. Book: H. P. S. Virk . Rendezvous: Forbidden Land of the 'Nicobar Islands' . 2015 . Friesen Press . 978-1460258767 . 29.
  15. Web site: District Census Handbook - Andaman & Nicobar Islands . . Directorate of Census Operations, Andaman & Nicobar Islands . 2015-07-21 .
  16. Manish Chandi . Rehabilitation and change in the aftermath of a tsunami. A return to Little Nicobar Island . November 2006 . Proceedings of the First India Disaster Management Congress . Academia.edu . 2015-08-12.