The Minicoy Island Lighthouse, which was established on 2 February 1885 at the southern end of the
Minicoy Island
Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (), is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on ''Maliku atoll'', the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of ...
('Minicoy' is "Maliku" in local usage) in the Indian state of
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast.
The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...
during the
British regime, is in height and has now a range of
it is built in brick masonry and has a lantern and gallery.
The lighthouse area in the southern part of the island was once exclusively occupied by the British while the local people preferred to live in the northern part. It has modern instrumentation of electrification and an automatic system of shining mirrors that flash light every 15 seconds. It is also equipped with
Differential Global Positioning System
Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPSs) supplement and enhance the positional data available from global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs). A DGPS for GPS can increase accuracy by about a thousandfold, from approximately to .
DGPSs c ...
(DGPS).
The lighthouse was brought under the control of the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
when the
Indian National Flag
The national flag of India, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of India saffron, white and India green; with the ', a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form ...
was unfurled over its top on 2 April 1956.
There is another smaller lighthouse on the island, at its northern end, which was established on 19 November 2008,
following the construction of a new
jetty
A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...
with improved landing facilities. It has a focal plane of .
History
Following the opening of the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
in 1862, which reduced the distance by sea between
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
,
Lord Ripon
George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, (24 October 1827 – 9 July 1909), styled Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and known as the Earl of Ripon in 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British p ...
, then
Governor General of British India, decided to build the light house in 1882 itself, which would have a 360-degree visibility, towering over the surrounding tall coconut trees.
The Board of Trade then decided to establish it as their own lighthouse on the Minicoy Island, to provide guidance for safe passage of their vessels, navigating through the "Eight Degree Channel," which demarcates the northern limit of the island. The site for the lighthouse was selected in 1882. The construction of the structure was begun in 1883 and completed in 1885. The lighthouse was commissioned on 2 February 1885 when Amin of Minicoy and Sir
James Douglass, representing the British Government were present.
This lighthouse, strategically situated on the sea route from
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
to
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
and
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...
to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
passes just south of the Minicoy Island on the Indian coast line leading to Colombo, which was then the "lifeline of the Empire".
After building this lighthouse no shipwrecks have occurred on the island.
This lighthouse is the lone surviving historic structure of the British period in the Lakshadweep Islands.
Initially, the lighthouse was directly administered by the Board of Trade, London with maintenance control under the Superintendent, Imperial Light Service, Colombo who were also in charge of the
Great Basses Reef Lighthouse
Great Basses Reef Lighthouse is an offshore lighthouse in the south of Sri Lanka, operated and maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. It is located on a reef 13 km off the coast of Yala National Park, near Little Basses Reef Lighthous ...
on the coast of
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. The maintenance drill conducted every six months by the Board of Trade from Ceylon involved change of guard of the light keepers and to refill oil and other stores. After India attained independence, the governments of India and Sri Lanka decided to transfer all functions of the lighthouse formally to India; this legal formality was completed on 19 September 1963.
Before that, every British merchant vessel navigating past the lighthouse was levied a toll on the basis of the ship's draft. The toll collected went into the
Privy Purse
The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £20.1 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2018.
Overview
The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres (200 ...
of the
British Monarch
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
.
The lighthouse is now under the administrative jurisdiction of the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL), under the Ministry of Shipping, and the Cochin Directorate of DGLL has the responsibility to maintain it.
Features
When established in 1885, the tower of the lighthouse designed by Sir
James Douglass, was built with bricks brought from London, to a height of . It was fitted with a first order optic and kerosene wick lamps. Optics had an active focal plane of . The exterior surface of the lighthouse was given a coat of white paint while the lantern roof was painted in red colour. In 1928, petroleum vapor burners with mantle were installed.
It gives a powerful flash every 15 seconds and is seen from away.
A Radar transponder (RACON) was fitted in 1985, and in 1998, it was fitted with a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). The optical system consists of 3 panels of with a focal distance of .
The source of light is of 400 W Metal Hallide Lamp while the rotation of optic is provided by electronic pulse motors. The lighthouse was fitted in 1983 with a medium frequency Radio beacon with a range of and has a call sign 'NY'. In 1985 a Racon was also fixed at the top of the lighthouse.
The tower has a winding staircase access to the top consisting of 216 steps inside.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in India
There are many lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* Das, Nrupal: Minicoy Island: Beaches, Culture and People of Minicoy, Lakshadweep Islands. 2018, Kindle, 37 Pages
Available Online
External links
*
Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships
{{Authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1885
Lighthouses in India
Buildings and structures in Lakshadweep
1885 establishments in India
Transport in Lakshadweep
Tourism in Lakshadweep