Uppinakudru, is a small island located six kilometres north of

Kundapura Kundapra, officially Kundapura, is a town in the Udupi district of Karnataka state in India. This town was known as Coondapoor when it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Presidency of British India. Pr ...

town in the

Udupi District Udupi district (also Udipi () in Kannada or Odipu () in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara old north Malabar c ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Etymology

The island's name ''Uppinakudru'' comes from the two words in Kannada 'uppu' (salt) and 'kudru' (island). It means ''an island of salt'' or ''salty island.''

History

The island, isolated from the mainland of Kundapura, was accessible only by boats. During the reign of Tippu Sultan, Uppinakudru was a major arsenal. It was also through here that boats entered from the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

and moved towards

Basrur Basrur / Basroor is a village in Kundapura ''taluk'' in Udupi district of Karnataka. Historically Basrur was also called Barcelor, Barcelore, Barcalor, Basnur, Bares, Abu-Sarur and Barsellor. History Basrur, once called Vasupura, is a historic ...

, which was a major trade centre up to the nineteenth century. A thick presence of coconut trees was to be found around the island, which effectively hid the island.

Learning centres

The village has three Anganwadis and a government higher primary school which was built in 1917. In 1992 a new school building was constructed. A government high school was established in 1993.

Economy

Residents of the island largely depend on agriculture mostly growing paddy, peanuts and various types of dal (pulses/lentils). There is a milk collecting centre which also provides government-subsidised cattle feeds. Formerly, sugarcane was largely grown on the island but not anymore due to unreliable markets.

Local government

The island is administered as part of the Tallur Gram Panchayat.

External links