Chennai Lighthouse
Location | Chennai, India |
---|---|
Coordinates | 13°02′N 80°17′E / 13.04°N 80.28°E |
Current light | |
Construction | reinforced concrete |
Height | 45.72 m (150.0 ft) |
Shape | triangular prism |
Markings | red and white |
Operator | Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships |
First lit | 10 January 1977 |
Focal height | 57 m (187 ft) |
Lens | 375 mm 3rd order revolving optic inside 2.5 m dia lantern house |
Intensity | 110V 3000W incandescent lamp |
Range | 28 nmi (52 km; 32 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl(2) W 10s |
First light | |
Constructed | 1796 |
Power source | coconut oil |
Deactivated | 1844, 1841 |
Focal height | 99 ft (30 m) |
Range | 25 mi (40 km) |
Second light | |
Constructed | 1838 |
Construction | granite |
Height | 38 m (125 ft) |
Shape | truncated cone |
First lit | 1 January 1844 |
Deactivated | 1894 |
Focal height | 117 ft (36 m) |
Range | 20 mi (32 km) |
Third light | |
Power source | kerosene |
First lit | 1 June 1894 |
Deactivated | 1977 |
Intensity | 18,000 candela |
There have been at least four
.The current lighthouse is a landmark on the Marina Beach, which was built by the East Coast Constructions and Industries in 1976, and opened in January 1977. It also houses an office of the meteorological department. On 16 November 2013, it was reopened to visitors. It is one of the few lighthouses in the world with an elevator.[1][2] It is also the only lighthouse in India within the city limits.[3] It is powered by a solar panel.[4]
Location
The lighthouse is located on Kamarajar Salai (Beach Road) opposite the office of the Director General of
History
By the end of the 18th century, the
The present lighthouse is the fourth lighthouse of Chennai. Before the end of the 18th century, when Madras was an open seashore, where goods were loaded and unloaded from boats,
In 1834, further to the petition by vice-admiral Sir John Gore about the necessity to have a more advanced lighthouse, the East India Company asked Capt. T. J. Smith of the Corps of Engineers, then on home leave in
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.
The lighthouse used kerosene to produce light with an intensity equivalent to that emitted by about 18,000 candles.[5] This remained one of the primary reasons for attracting the attention of the German warship SMS Emden during World War I. The lighthouse was the main target of the attack in which the High Court campus was bombed on 22 September 1914. The attack became part of the local folklore. A ballad in Tamil, published by Vijayapuram Sabhapati Pillai in 1914, goes:
To damage Fort and Light house too
Hurl they did some bombs ...
No damage, ha, no damage[5]
An improvement of equipment was introduced in 1927.
The towers
The entrance channel tower (date unknown)
Located north of the port, the entrance channel tower is about 24 metres (79 ft) high with a focal plane of 26 metres (85 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.[9]
The first tower (1796–1844)
The first light at Madras is a lantern on the wall of the
The second tower (1844–1894)
The second lighthouse was a tall
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. The lighthouse started functioning from 1 June 1894. According to I. C. R. Prasad's book Madras Lighthouse, the lantern room was erected on the gilded dome, with a cutting in the dome and the spiral staircase serving as entry to the top. The lighthouse used
The fourth tower (1977–present)
The present lighthouse is a triangular cylindrical, red-and-white-banded, 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 45.72 metres (150.0 ft) with the light source standing at a height of 57 metres (187 ft) from the
The base of the present lighthouse tower was damaged by the waves from the
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 Puducherry, which include the following lighthouses:[11]
1.
2. Kovilthottam
3.
4. Anjengo
5. Vilinjam
6. Muttam Point
7.
8. Manappad Point
9. Pandiyan Tivu DGPS
10.
11. Point Calimere
12.
13. Ammapattinam DGPS
14. Pasipattinam
15. Rameswaram
16. Pamban
17. Nagapattinam DGPS
18. Karaikal
19.
20. Cuddalore Channel Buoyage
21. Pondicherry Lighthouse and DGPS
22.
23. Madras (Chennai)
24. Pulicat DGPS
The director general at the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships located at
Security
The ninth floor of the tower has a viewing gallery where steel welded mesh panels have been erected for safety. This has been done to avoid suicide attempts, which were witnessed in the past. The tenth floor has a high-security radar installed and is not open to public. The elevator in the lighthouse will take the visitors directly to the viewing gallery on the ninth floor, and visitors will not be given access to any other floors.[15]
The lighthouse was open to the public until the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, following which it was shut down over fears that it would be the target of an attack. It was re-opened for visitors on 14 November 2013.[16]
Developments
Chennai Lighthouse is one of the 13 lighthouses in India that are identified as heritage centres to portray maritime history of India.[17] A lighthouse museum has been planned at a cost of ₹ 50 million.[18][19] The union shipping ministry is planning to build museums, rooms, cafeteria, souvenir shop, viewers gallery, 4D cinema hall, gaming zone and aquarium at the Chennai lighthouse.[20][21] The heritage museum will showcase the history of marine navigation, where oil-bearing large wicks, kerosene lights, petroleum vapour, and electrical lamps used in the past will be on display.[15]
Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships has planned the remote control and automation of lighthouses in Cochin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata directorates at a cost of ₹ 304.5 million.[22] 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.[23] The 22 lighthouses in the Chennai Lighthouse district will be monitored and controlled 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.
See also
References
- ^ "Lighthouses in India". Lighthouse Depot. Retrieved 15 August 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Chennai lighthouse open to visitors after 22 years". NDTV. 14 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ TNN (22 September 2013). "Marina lighthouse to be opened for kids from Nov 14". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Padmanabhan, Geeta (19 September 2017). "To the lighthouse". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Shivam, Pushkal (21 July 2013). "The glowing tale of Chennai's lighthouses". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Sriram, V. (8 October 2013). "170 years of a modern lighthouse". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ Chandru, K. (26 November 2011). "Some thoughts around the Madras High Court". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ a b Janardhanan, Arun (17 February 2011). "From an oil wick lamp to LEDs: A long way for seafaring tradition". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ (n.d.). "Lighthouses of India: Tamil Nadu and Puducherry". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "High Court Building". Chennai-Directory.com. n.d. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (n.d.). "Lighthouse Act". Government of India, Ministry of Shipping. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (n.d.). "Organisation Chart". Government of India, Ministry of Shipping. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "TN coast to soon boast of three new lighthouses". The New Indian Express. 13 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Automatic identification: Ministry to safeguard coastline". Maritime Gateway. n.d. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ a b Mariappan, Julie (24 September 2013). "Grille balcony to keep visitors safe at lighthouse". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ^ "Marina lighthouse reopened to visitors". The Hindu. 14 November 2013. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "India: Project for Promotion of Tourism in Lighthouses". MarineBuzz.com. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "New project to promote tourism in lighthouses". Business Line. Chennai: The Hindu. 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Modernization programme for Aguada lighthouse". The Times of India. Chennai. 13 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ Ayyappan, V. (17 February 2011). "Now, holiday at a lighthouse". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Lighthouses across the Country to be Developed as Tourist Attractions for Maritime History of India". Rang 7. 14 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (n.d.). "New Projects". Government of India, Ministry of Shipping. Archived from the original on 5 December 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "The Working Group Report on Shipping and Inland Water Transport for the Eleventh Five Year Plan" (PDF). Working Group Report on Shipping and IWT. Planning Commission, Government of India. n.d. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
External links
- Chennai Lighthouses on the World List of Lights
- Chennai Lighthouse in Lighthouse Digest's Lighthouse Explorer Database
- Photo of the original lighthouse
- The Hindu – The second longest beach?