The islands are scattered in the Arabian Sea 200 to 400 kms. away from the Malabar coast and 10 to 400 kms. from each other. It lies between 8º and 12º North Latitude and 71º and 74º East Longitude. Total area of the district is 32 sq. kms. The district headquarter of this Union Territory was shifted from Calicut (Kerala) to Kavaratti Island in the year  1964. It is said that the islands and reefs were formed as a result of the coral growths over the continuation of the Arravalli system of rock of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The islands are generally aligned from north to south with one exception namely, Andrott, which lies east to west. The islands are having natural protection in the eastern side by beaches. The district is conspicuous by the absence of forest of any kind.

Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory in the Indian Union. Total population of the district is about 0.05 million (1991 census). About 43.6% of the population lives in rural areas, while 56.3% of the population lives in urban areas. The Scheduled Castes contribute about 93.1% and there is no Scheduled Tribes population in this Union Territory. There are 944 females per 1000 males.  The density of population is 1615 persons per sq. km. The main language spoken in the territory is Malayalam. The other language spoken is Minicoy. Majority of inhabitants are followers of Islam.

Lakshadweep district has 4 Sub-divisions and 9 community Development Blocks. It has 4 towns and 23 villages (7 inhabited and 16 uninhabited). Lakshadweep is linked with the mainland by I.A flights, Ships and Mechanized vessels. Inter island transport is provided by Helicopter, Ships, Ferry vessels, and Mechanized boats (Table – 1).

Amenities available in the villages are shown in table-2.

The climate of Lakshawdeep islands is moderate, temperature ranges from 27º  to 35º  and humidity from 70% to 76%. Total rainfall of the district is approximately 1600mm per year. The most common crop that is grown here is coconut. Drumstick, breadfruit  are also found. Banana, colocasia, and cucumber are also grown. The entire cultivable area of the district is thickly planted with coconut trees. The production of coconut and export of copra form the nucleus of the islands economy. The chief occupations of male population are coconut growing, copra making and fishing. Coir twisting is mainly done by the women folk. Paddy is not cultivated in the district.

Island economy has not received much contribution from cattle and poultry as the soil of  the island is sandy. The absence of pasture grounds and fodder has made cattle rearing very expensive in the islands. Fishing is the other major occupation of the people in the district next to coconut plantation. Shark fishing is one of the promising and profitable fishing activities in the northern islands. Smoked and dried fish is also marketed from the islands.

Lakshadweep is one of the industrially backward territories in the Indian Union. Since coconut and fishing are the main stay of the people, development of industry has not received much attention in he private sector. There are few small industrial units such as boat building, tuna canning, coir yarn spinning, fiber factory, bakeries, hosiery factory, vinegar and jaggery making etc. Some of the industries like oil and flour mill and furniture making are available under co-operative sector.

Table 1: Administrative Units in District

Table 2: Villages having one or more amenities in the district (1991 census)

Amenities	Number of inhabited villages	Percentage
Education	6	85.7
Medical	6	85.7
Drinking water	7	100.0
Post and Telegraph	6	85.7
Market/hat	0	00.0
Communications	7	100.0*
Approach by Pucca Road	0	00.0
Power supply	7	100.0

• All villages of this Union Territory are approached by Navigable waterways.

Lakshadweep has a fairly well developed health infrastructure. There are 2 Hospitals, 3 Community Health Centres, 4 Primary Health Centres,  1 First Aid Centre and 2 Ayurvedic Dispensaries. The total bed strength of the district is 120. The hospital at Kavaratti and Minicoy has 50 and 20 beds respectively. A filarial control unit with its headquarters at Kavaratti has been functioning since 1976. The unit carries out entomological and parasitological surveys. T.B. is one of the major health problems in the islands. Major government institutions and health personnel working in these institutions are given in Tables 3 and 4.

Table 3, Govt. and Other medical Institutions in Lakshadweep – U.T.

Table 4, Health Personnel working in Government sector in Lakshadweep – U.T.

National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases

Lakshadweep was taken up under the programme during 1998–99.  Lakshadweep comprises of only one district.  Nodal Officer has been identified to co-ordinate all the activities.  State Rapid Response Team has been constituted and trained by NICD.  Fax has been installed; computer has been purchased and likely to be installed soon   Funds have been allocated to the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, but certificates of utilization of funds have not been received so far. There is no Public Health Laboratory in Lakshadweep. It has been proposed to upgrade the laboratory at  Indira  Gandhi  Hospital, Kavaratti for NSPCD purpose. It is also proposed to identify one of the laboratories in the neighboring district in Kerala as Regional Laboratory.  Weekly and Monthly reports are being received regularly by NICD. Table 5, shows the list of the members of RRT in Lakshadweep district.

Table 5, Lakshadweep District RRT

Outbreak Investigation

There were no outbreak reported in the district during the year 2000 and 2001 till date.