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Diu
The district of Diu is situated between the parallels 20o44'34"
and 20o42'00" of the latitude north and between the meridian
71o00'24" and 70o52'26" of longitude east
of Greenwich. Its length from the extreme north and south measures 4.6
Km and width from east to west measures 13.8 Km. It is a tiny island in
the Arabian Sea, near the port of Veraval, separated from the southern
extremity of the Saurashtra Peninsula by a narrow channel running through
a swamp. The channel is navigable only for fishing boats and small crafts.
On the south of the island, there is a sandstone cliff washed by the sea.
The island is connected to the mainland by a narrow channel on the north. Diu is an island connected by two bridges, one near Tad village and the other
near Ghoghla village. Chassi is the main river of the district which has
the length of approximately 13 km. The total area of the district is 40
Sq.Km. The Head Quarter town, is Daman.
Diu is very picturesque and possesses a number of historical monuments and
natural beauty spots such as the lovely beach at Nagoa on a placid blue
water bay, ideal for swimming and other water sports. Various type of
birds are found in this district which makes the place a little paradise
for bird watchers. It has flocks of blue rock pigeons , parrots, Koels,
doves, crows and sparrows. A major attraction is the large number of migratory
birds which fly into the island from August and stay there until February.
The principal occupations of the inhabitants were formerly weaving and
dyeing. Articles manufactured here were highly prized abroad. The bulk of the
population of Diu is engaged in fishing and salt production. The coastal and
inland waters are rich in fish particularly the well-known pomfret and hils,
Bombay-duck, prawns, shark, eel and Dara. The fishermen are hardy people and
even go for deep-sea fishing in fragile, primitive boats from 3 to15 tons in
burthen, built of joined wood planks. The fishing industry had given a boost to
the canning and freezing, industries in this territory. There is a unit in Diu
where processing and canning of fish is done. Cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats are main livestock of the district.
The people who live mostly in the upper storeys of lofty houses are quite industrious.
The main items of export are dried salt, fish, coconuts and printed cloth. The
handicraft articles are of high artistic value, manufactured from ivory,
tortoise-shell and horns of animals.
Climate
The topography is generally plain, the hillocks attaining a maximum height of
30 metres. The climate is
generally dry and sultry, the soil barren and
water scarce. It receives an average annual rainfall
of 540 millimeters. The maximum and minimum temperature of Diu Town is 30o
C and 22o C respectively. The main vegetation are Casurina,
Equisitifolia, procofis, Fuliflora, Acasias, Tortolis and palm tree locally
known as Hokka. Several groves of coconut palms are scattered over the Island and the hills
attain an elevation of about 30 metres. It has a small but excellent harbour
where vessels can safely ride at anchor in two fathoms of water.
Transport
The nearest rail head is Veraval about 80 Km away or Delvada on metre-guage.
Bombay is the nearest airport. Major district road is about 28.53 Km.
Other road is 9.58 Km, and rural roads are about 16.47 Km.
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