Neil Island

Neil Island
	Shaheed Dweep
	Neil Island Neil Island
Geography
Location	Bay of Bengal
Coordinates	11°50′N 93°02′E / 11.83°N 93.04°E
Archipelago	Andaman Islands
Adjacent to	Indian Ocean
Area	13.7 km2 (5.3 sq mi)
Length	3.7 km (2.3 mi)
Width	6.3 km (3.91 mi)
Coastline	19.4 km (12.05 mi)
Highest elevation	101 m (331 ft)
Highest point	Nipple Hill
Administration
	India
District	South Andaman
Island group	Andaman Islands
Island sub-group	Ritchie's Archipelago
Tehsil	Port Blair Tehsil
Largest settlement	Neil Kendra (pop. 1000)
Demographics
Population	3040 (in 2011)
Pop. density	222.00/km2 (574.98/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Hindu, Andamanese
Additional information
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30);
PIN	744104
Telephone code	031927
ISO code	IN-AN-00
Official website	www.and.nic.in
Literacy	84.4%
Avg. summer temperature	30.2 °C (86.4 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	23.0 °C (73.4 °F)
Sex ratio	1.2♂/♀
Census code	35.639.0004
Official languages	Hindi, English

Neil Island, officially named Shaheed Dweep (transl. Martyr's Island), is an island of the Andaman Islands, located in Ritchie's Archipelago. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.^[6] The island is located 36 km (22 mi) northeast from Port Blair.

Etymology

Neil Island was named after British Brigadier general James Neill, who had fought on the side of the British East Indian company in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.

In December 2018, it was renamed as Shaheed Dweep as a tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Bose had hoisted the Indian flag at Port Blair on 30 December 1943 and proclaimed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as territories liberated form British rule. He had subsequently named Andaman Island as Shaheed and Nicobar Island as Swaraj.^[7]

History

Shaheed Dweep, then Neil Island, was uninhabited until the arrival of settlers in the late 1960s. Like Swaraj Dweep, then Havelock, the vast majority of settlers at Shaheed Dweep were refugees from erstwhile East-Pakistan, following the exodus of Hindu Bangladeshis prior to that country's war of independence in 1971.

On 30 December 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Neil Island would be renamed as Shaheed Dweep.^[8]

Geography

The island belongs to the Ritchie's Archipelago and is located between Havelock Island and Rose Island. It is a comparatively flat island, and much of the landmass was deemed suitable for paddy cultivation. Unfortunately, as a result of this, very little forest cover remains at Shaheed, and almost all of it is concentrated in the reserve forest on Shaheed's north-western side. Shaheed Dweep tends to remain a degree or two warmer than Havelock as a result of the lack of forest cover.^{[citation needed]}

Administration

Politically, Shaheed Dweep is part of Neil Kendra panchayat, of Port Blair Taluk.^[9]

Demographics

The population of 3040 lives in five villages, listed below, with population at 2011 census in parentheses:^[10]

Sitapur (274)
Bharatpur (629)
Neil Kendra (1000)
Lakshmanpur (382)
Ram Nagar (755)

Transport

There is a jetty at Neil Kendra, which serves as the only access point of the island.^[11] There are regular Government ferry from Port Blair to Shaheed Dweep. There are private cruise ships such as Makruzz, Green Ocean, Nautika and ITT Majestic.^[12]

Economy

Agriculture is the primary occupation of the villagers, and the island supplies vegetables to the rest of Andaman. Neil Island is known for its organic cultivation and provides much of the organic produce to remaining part of the islands.

Tourism

Despite its minuscule tourist infrastructure, an increasing number of tourists have chosen to stay at Shaheed Dweep instead of neighboring Swaraj Dweep. There are a handful of restaurants and basic beach hotels that cater to international and domestic tourists.

Some notable places to visit in Neil Island are, Bharatpur Beach, Laxmanpur Beach, Sitapur Beach, and Natural Bridge. Some people also like to visit the Ramnagar Beach, also known as the Sunset Beach. Water Sports Activities are only available in Bharatpur Beach. Rest of the attractions are only for sightseeing.^[13]

Shaheed Dweep can be explored by renting a two-wheeler, cycle or by hiring private cabs. Activities such as boat scuba diving, snorkelling, glass bottom boat rides are available at Shaheed Dweep. Limited ferry are available from Port Blair to Shaheed Dweep. It is recommended to reach Swaraj Dweep before coming to Shaheed Dweep for better connectivity.^[14]