Pamban

Pamban
Pamban island with TV tower
Waters	Gulf of Mannar / Palkstrasse
Geographical location	9 ° 16 ′  N , 79 ° 17 ′  E Coordinates: 9 ° 16 ′  N , 79 ° 17 ′  E
length	30 km
width	9 km
Highest elevation	10  m
Residents	82,675 (2011)
main place	Rameswaram

Pamban ( Tamil : பாம்பன் Pāmpaṉ [ ˈpɑːmbən ]; English Pamban Island , also Rameswaram Island ) is an island located between the Indian mainland and Sri Lanka . It belongs to the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . Its largest place is the pilgrimage town of Rameswaram .

geography

The island of Pamban is two kilometers away from a narrow peninsula on the Indian mainland and extends in a south-easterly direction in a long, narrow dune and lagoon spur to the chain of coral reefs known as Adam's Bridge , which extends over 30 km to the Sri Lankan island of Mannar leads. Pamban Island and the Adams Bridge separate the Strait of Palk and Palk Bay in the north from the Gulf of Mannar in the south. The island is about 30 kilometers long in total, including the 15 km long dune spur. It has its greatest width of nine kilometers in the area of ​​Rameswaram. The island is completely flat with a highest elevation of nine meters. The dune and lagoon spur, which is still two kilometers wide at the beginning, narrows to barely 200 meters at its eastern end.

On the sandy soil that covers large parts of the island, hardly any agriculture can be practiced. Coconut palms , figs and eucalyptus trees are common. Fishing is an important line of business.

The climate is tropical according to the location with temperatures fluctuating around 30 ° C (between 20 ° and 33 ° C) and 940 mm annual rainfall.

Pamban
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     60   29 24     23   30th 24     18th   32 25th     45   34 27     32   34 28     3   33 27     14th   33 27     13   33 26th     29   33 26th     219   32 26th     281   30th 25th     198   29 24 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: wetterkontor.de

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Pamban Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 28.6 30.3 32.1 33.8 34.0 33.0 33.0 32.6 32.5 31.7 30.0 28.5 O 31.7 Min. Temperature (° C) 23.9 23.8 24.8 27.1 27.8 27.3 26.7 26.3 26.0 25.5 24.7 24.1 O 25.7 Precipitation ( mm ) 60 23 18th 45 32 3 14th 13 29 219 281 198 Σ 935 Humidity ( % ) 79 76 74 75 76 76 75 77 78 80 81 82 O 77.4 Source: wetterkontor.de

population

The island of Pamban is congruent with the Taluk (sub-district) Rameswaram of the district Ramanathapuram. According to the 2011 Indian census, the population is 82,675. A little over half of the population lives in the city of Rameswaram. 64 percent of the population of Pamban are Hindus , there is also a large Christian population (28 percent) and a smaller minority of Muslims (8 percent). As in the whole of Tamil Nadu, the main language is Tamil , which according to the 2011 census is spoken by 99 percent of the population as their mother tongue.

traffic

The island Pamban is connected to the mainland by a railway bridge and a road bridge, both of which usually Pamban Bridge ( Pamban Bridge ) are called and are long more than 2 kilometers. The terminus in Rameswaram offers numerous train connections such as to Madurai and Chennai .

Cyclone 1964

A devastating cyclone in 1964, known as the Rameshwaram or Danushkodi cyclone, severely damaged the island. The railway bridge lost some bridge fields. The south-eastern spur of the island was flooded, hardly any traces remained of the railway to the place Dhanushkodi at its tip , in the place itself only a few walls of the train station, a sanctuary and a church remain. The previously existing ferry connection from Dhanushkodi to Mannar Island off Sri Lanka no longer exists. Therefore, the railway line in Sri Lanka from Talaimannar to Madawachchiya was abandoned. The relatively easy journey by train and ferry from India to Colombo was a thing of the past. If the political situation allows it, an old ferry occasionally drives from a pier in front of Rameswaram to a pier in front of Talaimannar. For a few years now, the former Dhanushkodi has been accessible again as a pilgrimage and excursion destination via an initially paved road, which then turns into a sand track.

Web links

Commons : Pamban Island  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Weatherbase climate tables for Pamban , Falling Rain Genomics climate tables
2. ↑ Census of India 2011: Primary Census Abstract Data Tables: Thoothukudi.
3. ^ Census of India 2011: C-1 Population By Religious Community. Tamil Nadu.
4. ↑ Census of India 2001: C-15: Population by Mother Tongue (Tamil Nadu), accessed under Tabulations Plan of Census Year - 2001 .
5. ↑ List of train connections from stations with the letter R.