Mayabunder is a town and a tehsil in the northern part of Middle Andaman Island, Andaman Archipelago, India. The name is also spelled Maya Bunder or Maya Bandar. As of 2001, the county had 23,912 inhabitants, of which 3182 were in the town. It was settled in the British colonial period by immigrants from Myanmar and ex-convicts from Mainland India. Administratively, Mayabunder is the headquarters of the North and Middle Andaman district, which is part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory.

Demographics

Bengali is the most spoken language in Mayabunder tehsil. As of 2011 census, Bengali is spoken as the first language by 41.42 per cent of the tehsil's population. Largest language's population are Bengali 10,682 Sadri 2,787 Hindi 2,343 Telugu 2,224 Kurukh 1,686 Tamil 1,735 Malayalam 718 Kharia 665 Munda 520.

Geography

Mayabunder is linked with Port Blair by the Andaman Trunk Road (242 km) and by ferry (136 km).

Economy and facilities

Mayabunder is a waystation for several tourist attractions, such as mangrove lined tidal creeks, the beach at Aves Island (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) (30 minutes by boat), and Karamatang Beach (13 km), a sea turtle nesting ground. Port Blair and Mayabunder are the only ports that can harbour passenger ships from mainland India. Mayabunder has a public college named Mahatma Gandhi Government College. On 24 December 2012, Indian Coast Guard Station Mayabunder, the first CG Station in the North Andaman Islands was commissioned by the Defence Secretary, Shri Shashi Kant Sharma.

Villages

According to the 2001 census, Mayabunder county includes the following villages: