Pulomilo is an island in the

Nicobar district Nicobar district is one of three districts in the Indian union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The district's administrative territory encompasses all of the Nicobar Islands, which are located in the Indian Ocean, between the Bay ...

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, 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 On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...

. There were initial fears that the entire population had been drowned, but later reports showed that the island had been evacuated. 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 Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

, 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.

Geography

Pulomilo Island has a size of . Before the

, 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. Most of the island is covered in forests of casuarina, pandanus, and coconut palm.

Administration

Pulomilo island belongs to the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Great Nicobar Great Nicobar is the southernmost and largest of the Nicobar Islands of India, north of Sumatra. It is part of India, in the Nicobar district within the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. History The Nicobar Island has been ...

of Little Nicobar

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

Economics

Pulomilo island's main production crop is coconut in the form of

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

. The island has no electricity, and the primary mode of transport is by boat.

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"

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. The primary language spoken among the residents is the Channai Payuh dialect of Nicobari and most are

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of the population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 82.35%.

Image gallery

File:Map of Nicobar Islands-en.png, Map File:LittleNicobarIslandMap.jpg, Pulomilo is located to the north-west of the Little Nicobar Island

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulomilo Islands of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Cities and towns in Nicobar district Villages in Great Nicobar tehsil Nicobar district Populated places in India Islands of India Islands of the Bay of Bengal