Bangaram Atoll
Encyclopedia
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
in the Union Territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep , formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The atoll has a roughly rectangular shape and is 8.1 km in length with a maximum width of 4.2 km. It is located about 7 km northeast of Agatti
Agatti
Agatti Island , also known as Agathy, is a 5.6 km long island, situated on a coral atoll in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is located about 459 km off Kochi in the mainland and 7 km to the southwest of Bangaram, the nearest island...
and 25 km to the southeast of Perumal Par
Perumal Par
Perumal Par, also known as Peremul Par, is an uninhabited coral atoll belonging to the Amindivi Subgroup of islands of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is located at , 33 km south of Bitra Par and 25 km to the northwest of Bangaram Atoll....
, in the western area of Lakshadweep at 10°56′N 72°17′E. This atoll is connected to the reef of Agatti through a shallow submarine ridge.
Although oficially uninhabited, 61 people (mainly resort staff) are registered in Bangaram according to the 1991 census.
Islands
- Bangaram Island with 2.3 km² is the largest island in the atoll. There is a long brackish pond in the center of the island fringed by screwpine and coconut palms. Bangaram Island Resort is located on this island which was formerly uninhabited. The resort opened to tourism in 1974, but the lack of an airport made it difficult to reach for international tourism. Only after the inauguration of the Agatti AerodromeAgatti AerodromeAgatti Aerodrome is located on the southern end of Agatti Island, in the union territory of Lakshadweep in India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India . It is the only airstrip in the Lakshadweep Islands, which are off the west coast of India....
in nearby Agatti did tourism increase in numbers. Current Alcohol laws of IndiaAlcohol laws of IndiaIndia is the fastest growing alcohol market in the world. The alcohol consumption in India is about 6,700 million litres. It grows approximately at a rate of 30% annually. It is expected to cross 19,000 million litres by 2015...
in Lakshadweep allow the consumption of alcoholic drinks only in Bangaram Island. - The only other large island is Tinnakara, almost as large as Bangaram, and also located at the edge of the lagoonLagoonA lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
basin. - Parli 1 and Parli 2 are two little islets at the eastern fringe of the reef.