Question

The administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep is __________.
a.Kavaratti
b.Kadmat
c.Kalapani
d.Kilkan

Answer 1

Hint: India is a national federation comprising 28 states and 8 union territories. The 8 union territories are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Puducherry.

Complete answer:
India’s smallest Union Territory is Lakshadweep which is an archipelago comprising 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km.

Lakshadweep has a tropical climate and it has a standard temperature of 27° C – 32° C. April and May are the hottest months. Generally, the climate is humid, warm and gentle. During monsoons, ship-based tourism is closed. October to March is the favourable time to be on the islands. The South West Monsoon is active from June to October, with an average rainfall of 10-40 mm. The relative humidity is 70-75%.

The majority of the people in Lakshadweep follow Islam and therefore the islands commemorate all the major Islamic Festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr, Milad-Ul-Nabi, Bakri-Eid, and Muharram. Lakshadweep has no Scheduled Castes. The primary source of livelihood of the people is fishing, coconut cultivation and coir twisting. Tourism is a developing industry here. Malayalam is the broadly spoken dialect.

Looking at the options above:
Option a: On 1 November 1956, Lakshadweep islands were segregated from Madras into a separate union territory for administrative purposes. Kavaratti is the capital of Lakshadweep. The administration Secretariat was switched from Kozhikode to Kavaratti in March 1964.
Hence, Kavaratti is the administrative headquarter of Lakshadweep. This option is correct.

Option b: Kadmat is an island which is also known as Cardamom Island. It is a coral island which belongs to the Amindivi subgroup of islands of the Lakshadweep archipelago in India. This option is incorrect.

Option c: Kalpeni is an inhabited Atoll of the Lakshadweep. This option is incorrect.

Option d: There is no such place like Kilkan in Lakshadweep. This option is incorrect.

Option 'a' is correct.

Note: Recently, the southern court of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has conferred a provisional stay on felling of coconut trees on Agatti Island in Lakshadweep. Shri Dineshwar Sharma, IPS, is the present administrator of Lakshadweep.