Hutbay, also spelt Hut Bay, is the principal town and administrative headquarters of Little Andaman Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India. Located on the eastern coast of Little Andaman, the town serves as the chief entry point to the island and as the centre of its civil administration, commerce, and connectivity with Port Blair, the capital of the Union Territory.
| Name | Hutbay (Hut Bay) |
|---|---|
| Type | Town and tehsil headquarters |
| Island | Little Andaman |
| District | South Andaman district |
| Union Territory | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Country | India |
| Connectivity | Sea route from Port Blair via Hut Bay jetty |
Hutbay lies on the eastern shore of Little Andaman, the southernmost large island of the Andaman group, separated from Rutland Island and the South Andaman group by the Duncan Passage to the north and from the Nicobar Islands by the Ten Degree Channel to the south. The town fronts a sheltered bay on the Bay of Bengal, which gives it its name, and the surrounding terrain consists of low coastal plains backed by dense tropical evergreen forest. Notable natural features in the vicinity include White Surf Waterfall, Whisper Wave Waterfall, Butler Bay beach, and the lighthouse at the southern tip of the island.
Hutbay functions as the headquarters of the Little Andaman tehsil, which is administered as part of the South Andaman district of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Government offices, the sub-divisional administration, police, public health facilities, and educational institutions catering to the island's population are concentrated in and around the town. Local self-government is exercised through the gram panchayat system applicable to the island.
The population of Hutbay and Little Andaman comprises settlers of mainland Indian origin, including resettled families from Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Nicobarese community. The Onge, one of the indigenous Andamanese tribes, inhabit reserved areas of Little Andaman and are protected under special provisions; their settlements lie outside the immediate town area. Major languages spoken in Hutbay include Bengali, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam, reflecting the resettlement history of the island.
The local economy is based on agriculture, fisheries, coconut and areca plantations, small-scale trade, and government employment. Coconut and red oil palm cultivation, introduced as part of planned settlement schemes, have historically been important to the rural economy of Little Andaman, with Hutbay serving as the marketing and dispatch centre. Tourism, though limited compared with Havelock and Neil Islands, contributes through visitors drawn to the beaches, surf points, and waterfalls accessible from the town.
Hutbay is connected to Port Blair primarily by sea. Passenger and vehicle ferries operated under the Directorate of Shipping Services of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration call at the Hut Bay jetty, with sailings of varying duration depending on the vessel. Within the island, a road network radiates from Hutbay along the coast and into the interior, linking forest settlements, plantations, and tourist points such as Butler Bay.
Little Andaman, long inhabited by the Onge, came under formal administration with the rest of the Andaman group during the British period. Organised settlement of the island by mainlanders began after Indian independence, particularly from the 1960s and 1970s, when the Government of India sponsored resettlement of displaced families from East Pakistan and other regions, alongside development of plantations and infrastructure. Hutbay grew during this period as the focal point of administration and supply.
//The town and the wider island were severely affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, which damaged the jetty, coastal settlements, and infrastructure and necessitated extensive rebuilding and rehabilitation in subsequent years.
As the only urban centre on Little Andaman, Hutbay is significant as the administrative, logistical, and cultural hub for the island's settler and indigenous communities. It also serves as a gateway for ecological and tribal-welfare administration in one of the more remote parts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.