Light House, Chennai
Encyclopedia
The Madras Light House is a lighthouse
facing the Bay of Bengal
on the east coast of the Indian Subcontinent
. It is a famous landmark on the Marina Beach
in Chennai
, India
. It was built by the East Coast Constructions and Industries in 1976 replacing the old lighthouse in the northern direction. The lighthouse was opened in January 1977. It also houses the meteorological department and is restricted to visitors. It is one of the few lighthouses in the world and the only one in India with an elevator.
. It is also the junction where Kamarajar Salai, Santhome High Road and Dr.Radhakrishnan Road meet. The lighthouse and the surrounding areas are served by the Light House MRTS train station located nearby on Radha Krishnan Salai 13.0450°N 80.2768°E.
The second light house was erected during 1838-1844 on the north side of Fort St George. The construction of this regular lighthouse tower in the compound of the present High Court was taken up in 1838 and completed in 1840 on which the wick lamp was shifted as the supply of the new equipment by Stone Chance, Birmingham
was delayed. The new flashing light consisting of Argand lamps and reflectors started functioning from 1 January 1844. It was functioning for the next 50 years until 1894, when in 1886, during the reconstruction of the Madras Port
after a cyclone, the port officer wrote to the Madras government alerting them of a possible threat to vessel traffic in the region from a Tripasore reef spotted around 40 miles south of Madras near Seven Pagodas (now known as Mamallapuram). The port officer then recommended that a lighthouse be installed to alert ships about the impending danger. Responding to this, the government shifted this lighthouse equipment with lantern onto the dome of the new High Court building. This became the third lighthouse of Chennai and was functioning from the tallest dome of the Madras High Court. It started functioning on 1 June 1894, with argand lamps and reflectors manufactured by Chance Bros, Birmingham which had originally been installed in the 160-ft-tall lighthouse tower. This lighthouse later became crucial for the development of the Madras port.
An improvement of equipment was introduced in 1927. This was later decommissioned after the present one was constructed on the Marina beach near Santhome
in 1976, which was unveiled on 10 January 1977. An electrical lighthouse equipment manufactured by BBT, Paris
was installed on the new tower, which maintains a range of 28 nautical miles for vessels and is one of the tallest lighthouses in the country.
Coconut oil was considered the best fuel for a lighthouse lamp because it made the light burn bright in the lighthouse. Gas lights were used later followed by dischargeable lamps. In the beginning, lighthouse lamp had a steady flame. When ships began to confuse this with city lights, it was decided to use a flickering light in light houses. The lighthouses at Chennai and Mamallapuram use dischargeable lamps, which rotate inside a bowl of mercury. In recent days, LED lights are preferred.
1. Alleppey
2. Kovil Thottam
3. Tangasseri Point (Quilon)
4. Anjengo
5. Vilinjam
6. Muttam Point
7. Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin)
8. Manappad Point
9. Pandiyan Tivu DGPS
10. Kilakkarai
11. Point Calimere
12. Kodikkarai
13. Ammpattinam DGPS
14. Pasipattinam
15. Rameswaram
16. Pamban
17. Nagapattinam DGPS
18. Karaikal
19. Porto Novo
20. Cuddalore Channel Buoyage
21. Pondicherry Lighthouse and DGPS
22. Mahabalipuram
23. Madras (Chennai)
24. Pulicat DGPS
The director general at the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships located at Noida
has under him or her four deputy director generals, namely, Jamnagar
, Chennai, Kolkata
and the head quarter. For administrative control, the entire coastline has been divided into seven districts having their regional headquarters at Jamanagar, Mumbai
, Cochin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam
, Kolkata and Port Blair
. The Chennai Lighthouse District is administrated under the Regional Director (Chennai), who along with the Regional Director (Cochin) comes under the deputy director general (Chennai). The Regional Office at Chennai provides information on the geographical region between Alleppey Lighthouse to Pulicat Lighthouse. The union government is planning to build three new lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse District at an estimated cost of 25 million each.
Located north of the port, the entrance channel tower is about 24 metres (78.7 ft) high with a focal plane of 26 metres (85.3 ft), flashing white, red and green lights, and the tower is visible only from a distance closer to the entrance channel. This tower was assigned an Admiralty number of F0938 and NGA number of 27074. This tower is still active.
The first tower (1796-1844)
The first light at Madras, a lantern on the wall of the Fort St. George, is inactive since 1844.
The second tower (1844-1894)
The second lighthouse was a tall granite
Doric
column erected in 1841 and is located within the compound of the Madras High Court
to the north of Fort St. George. This round fluted stone tower with gallery is 49 metres (160.8 ft) tall. This tower was assigned an ARLHS number of IND-027. This tower is inactive since 1894 after it was moved atop the dome of the new High Court building built in 1892.
The third tower (1894-1977)
The lantern from the second tower was moved to one of the tallest ornate towers of the Madras High Court building, which was constructed adjacent to the second tower in 1892. It was assigned an ARLHS number of IND-026. This tower is inactive since 1977.
The fourth tower (1977-present)
The present lighthouse is a triangular cylindrical concrete one with lantern and double gallery and is 11 stories high. The tower is attached to a three-story circular harbour-control building. The total height of the tower is 46 metres (150.9 ft) with the light source standing at a height of 57 metres (187 ft) from the mean sea level. The source consists of 440V 50 Hz main supply (with standby Genset).
The base of the present lighthouse tower was damaged by the waves from the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, but there were no reported casualties.
Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships has planned the remote control and automation of lighthouses in Cochin, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata directorates at a cost of 304.5 million. As a first step towards automation of lighthouses, Radone, an equipment that can detect radar signals from ships and helps captains identify the location, has been installed on most lighthouses. The automation of lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse District is estimated to cost about 50 million during the 11th Five-Year Plan. The 22 lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse district will be monitored and controled from conveniently located positions termed as Remote Control Stations (RCSs). These RCSs will be ultimately linked to Master Control Station, proposed to be located at Chennai for effective control.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
facing the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
on the east coast of the Indian Subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. It is a famous landmark on the Marina Beach
Marina Beach
Marina Beach is a beach in the city of Chennai , India, along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The beach runs from near Fort St. George in the north to Besant Nagar in the south, a distance of , making it the longest urban beach in the country and the world's second longest...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, 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...
. It was built by the East Coast Constructions and Industries in 1976 replacing the old lighthouse in the northern direction. The lighthouse was opened in January 1977. It also houses the meteorological department and is restricted to visitors. It is one of the few lighthouses in the world and the only one in India with an elevator.
Location
The lighthouse is located on Kamarajar Salai (Beach Road) opposite the office of the Director General of Tamil Nadu Police and All India Radio's Chennai station. The lighthouse marks the end of the promenade on the northern half of the Marina BeachMarina Beach
Marina Beach is a beach in the city of Chennai , India, along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The beach runs from near Fort St. George in the north to Besant Nagar in the south, a distance of , making it the longest urban beach in the country and the world's second longest...
. It is also the junction where Kamarajar Salai, Santhome High Road and Dr.Radhakrishnan Road meet. The lighthouse and the surrounding areas are served by the Light House MRTS train station located nearby on Radha Krishnan Salai 13.0450°N 80.2768°E.
History
The present lighthouse is the fourth lighthouse of Chennai. Before the end of the 18th century, when Madras was an open sea shore, where goods were loaded and unloaded from boats, bonfire lit by fisherwomen was used to guide the menfolk to the shore. The arrangement of exhibiting light to assist British East India Company's vessels arriving at Madras and to enter the port during the 17th and 18th centuries is not known since no record is available. The first conventional lighthouse started functioning in 1796 when the terrace of the officer's mess-cum-exchange building (the present day's Fort Museum at Fort St. George) was chosen as the site for the first warning beacon which used a large lantern to aid vessels approaching the port in preventing the risk of shoals of Covelong in the south and the hidden sand banks in the north. This lighthouse with the oil wick lamp functioned till 1841.The second light house was erected during 1838-1844 on the north side of Fort St George. The construction of this regular lighthouse tower in the compound of the present High Court was taken up in 1838 and completed in 1840 on which the wick lamp was shifted as the supply of the new equipment by Stone Chance, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
was delayed. The new flashing light consisting of Argand lamps and reflectors started functioning from 1 January 1844. It was functioning for the next 50 years until 1894, when in 1886, during the reconstruction of the Madras Port
Chennai Port
Chennai Port , formerly known as Madras Port, is the second largest port of India, behind the Mumbai Port, and the largest port in the Bay of Bengal. Being the third oldest port among the 12 major ports of India, it is over 125 years old, although maritime trade started way back in 1639 on the sea...
after a cyclone, the port officer wrote to the Madras government alerting them of a possible threat to vessel traffic in the region from a Tripasore reef spotted around 40 miles south of Madras near Seven Pagodas (now known as Mamallapuram). The port officer then recommended that a lighthouse be installed to alert ships about the impending danger. Responding to this, the government shifted this lighthouse equipment with lantern onto the dome of the new High Court building. This became the third lighthouse of Chennai and was functioning from the tallest dome of the Madras High Court. It started functioning on 1 June 1894, with argand lamps and reflectors manufactured by Chance Bros, Birmingham which had originally been installed in the 160-ft-tall lighthouse tower. This lighthouse later became crucial for the development of the Madras port.
An improvement of equipment was introduced in 1927. This was later decommissioned after the present one was constructed on the Marina beach near Santhome
Santhome
-History:The word Santhome or San Thome is derived from Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The local Christian belief is that the apostle came to India in A.D.52, was martyred in A.D.72 at St.Thomas Mount in the City and was interred in Mylapore. A church was built over his...
in 1976, which was unveiled on 10 January 1977. An electrical lighthouse equipment manufactured by BBT, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
was installed on the new tower, which maintains a range of 28 nautical miles for vessels and is one of the tallest lighthouses in the country.
Coconut oil was considered the best fuel for a lighthouse lamp because it made the light burn bright in the lighthouse. Gas lights were used later followed by dischargeable lamps. In the beginning, lighthouse lamp had a steady flame. When ships began to confuse this with city lights, it was decided to use a flickering light in light houses. The lighthouses at Chennai and Mamallapuram use dischargeable lamps, which rotate inside a bowl of mercury. In recent days, LED lights are preferred.
The Chennai Lighthouse District
The Chennai Lighthouse, along with 23 other lighthouses along the eastern, southern and western coast of the Indian peninsula, comes under the administration of the Chennai Lighthouse District. In accord with the Lighthouse Act of 1927 and the Lighthouse (Amendment) Act of 1985, the Chennai Lighthouse District comprises under its jurisdiction part of Kerala State which is south of latitude 9º00'N and state of Tamil Nadu, which is south of latitude 13º00'N and west of longitude 80º30'E and the union territory of Pondicherry, which include the following lighthouses:1. Alleppey
2. Kovil Thottam
3. Tangasseri Point (Quilon)
4. Anjengo
5. Vilinjam
6. Muttam Point
7. Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin)
8. Manappad Point
9. Pandiyan Tivu DGPS
10. Kilakkarai
11. Point Calimere
12. Kodikkarai
13. Ammpattinam DGPS
14. Pasipattinam
15. Rameswaram
16. Pamban
17. Nagapattinam DGPS
18. Karaikal
19. Porto Novo
20. Cuddalore Channel Buoyage
21. Pondicherry Lighthouse and DGPS
22. Mahabalipuram
23. Madras (Chennai)
24. Pulicat DGPS
The director general at the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships located at Noida
Noida
Noida , short for the New Okhla Industrial Development Area, is an area in India under the management of the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority . Noida came into administrative existence on 17 April 1976 and celebrates 17 April as "Noida Day". It was set up as part of an urbanization...
has under him or her four deputy director generals, namely, Jamnagar
Jamnagar
Jamnagar is a city and a municipal corporation in Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city was built up substantially by Maharaja Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji in the 1920s, when the district was known as Nawanagar. The district lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch and is...
, Chennai, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and the head quarter. For administrative control, the entire coastline has been divided into seven districts having their regional headquarters at Jamanagar, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Cochin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
, Kolkata and Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
. The Chennai Lighthouse District is administrated under the Regional Director (Chennai), who along with the Regional Director (Cochin) comes under the deputy director general (Chennai). The Regional Office at Chennai provides information on the geographical region between Alleppey Lighthouse to Pulicat Lighthouse. The union government is planning to build three new lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse District at an estimated cost of 25 million each.
The Towers
The entrance channel tower (date unknown)Located north of the port, the entrance channel tower is about 24 metres (78.7 ft) high with a focal plane of 26 metres (85.3 ft), flashing white, red and green lights, and the tower is visible only from a distance closer to the entrance channel. This tower was assigned an Admiralty number of F0938 and NGA number of 27074. This tower is still active.
The first tower (1796-1844)
The first light at Madras, a lantern on the wall of the Fort St. George, is inactive since 1844.
The second tower (1844-1894)
The second lighthouse was a tall granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
Doric
Doric
Doric may refer to:* Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode* Doric dialect...
column erected in 1841 and is located within the compound of the Madras High Court
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
to the north of Fort St. George. This round fluted stone tower with gallery is 49 metres (160.8 ft) tall. This tower was assigned an ARLHS number of IND-027. This tower is inactive since 1894 after it was moved atop the dome of the new High Court building built in 1892.
The third tower (1894-1977)
The lantern from the second tower was moved to one of the tallest ornate towers of the Madras High Court building, which was constructed adjacent to the second tower in 1892. It was assigned an ARLHS number of IND-026. This tower is inactive since 1977.
The fourth tower (1977-present)
The present lighthouse is a triangular cylindrical concrete one with lantern and double gallery and is 11 stories high. The tower is attached to a three-story circular harbour-control building. The total height of the tower is 46 metres (150.9 ft) with the light source standing at a height of 57 metres (187 ft) from the mean sea level. The source consists of 440V 50 Hz main supply (with standby Genset).
The base of the present lighthouse tower was damaged by the waves from the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, but there were no reported casualties.
Developments
Chennai Lighthouse is one of the 13 lighthouses in India that are identified as heritage centres to portray maritime history of India. A lighthouse museum has been planned at a cost of 50 million. The union shipping ministry is planning to build museums, rooms, cafeteria, souvenier shop, viewers gallery, 4D cinema hall, gaming zone and aquarium at the Chennai lighthouse.Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships has planned the remote control and automation of lighthouses in Cochin, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata directorates at a cost of 304.5 million. As a first step towards automation of lighthouses, Radone, an equipment that can detect radar signals from ships and helps captains identify the location, has been installed on most lighthouses. The automation of lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse District is estimated to cost about 50 million during the 11th Five-Year Plan. The 22 lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse district will be monitored and controled from conveniently located positions termed as Remote Control Stations (RCSs). These RCSs will be ultimately linked to Master Control Station, proposed to be located at Chennai for effective control.