Yanam
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Town | |
Central Yanam
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Nickname(s): French Yanam | |
Location of Yanam District in India along with the other districts of Pondicherry |
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Location of Yanam in Andhra Pradesh, India | |
Coordinates: 16°44′00″N 82°15′00″E / 16.73333°N 82.25000°ECoordinates: 16°44′00″N 82°15′00″E / 16.73333°N 82.25000°E | |
Country | India |
State | Puducherry |
District | Yanam |
Area | |
• Total | 30 km2 (10 sq mi) |
Languages | |
• Official | Tamil, English and French |
• Additional official | Telugu |
Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
PIN | 533 464 |
Telephone code | 91 (0)884 |
Vehicle registration | PY-04 |
Yanam (French: Yanaon) is a town in the Indian union territory of Puducherry, located in Yanam district, which forms a 30 km² enclave in the district of East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. It has a population of 32,000, most of whom speak Telugu. For 200 years it was a French colony, and, though united with India in 1954, is still sometimes known as French Yanam. It possesses a blend of French and Telugu culture prevailing in Andhra Pradesh. During French rule, the Tuesday market (mangalavaram santa) at Yanam was popular among Telugu people in the Madras Presidency who visited Yanam to buy foreign and smuggled goods during Yanam People's Festival, which is held in January. Also, after implementation of the Sarda Act in British India in 1929, Telugu people came to Yanam to conduct child marriages, which remained legal under the French administration. In 1936, Yanam's population was 5,220.
The district lies in the delta of the Godavari River; the town is situated where the river meets its tributary, the Koringa River (Coringa River), nine kilometres from the Bay of Bengal on the Coromandel coast.
Yanam's soil is alluvium consisting of sand clay and gravel. It is greyish black and clayey in composition. A few thin layers of sandy clay or sand, not exceeding 0.3-metre in thickness, are intercalated with the clay soil. The river sands on the bank of Gauthami, Godavari consist of quartz, felspar and muscovite mica. A few grains of monazite are also found in the black streaks. There are no minerals of economic value in the region.