Prong's Lighthouse

{{short description|Lighthouse is a lighthouse situated at the southernmost point of Bombay (now Mumbai), India}}

{{Infobox lighthouse

| name = Prong’s Lighthouse
Colaba Point

| image = Bombay Harbour. Prong's Lighthouse - 25 April 1874. (12488175835).jpg

| image_width =

| caption = Photo of the lighthouse taken on 5 April 1874.

| location = Mumbai, India

| coordinates = {{coord|18.879238|N|72.799750|E|display=inline,title}}

| yearbuilt = 1844 (first)

| yearlit = 1871 (current)

| automated =

| yeardeactivated =

| foundation =

| construction = stone tower

| shape = tapered cylindrical tower with double balcony and lantern

| marking = black basement, white tower with a horizontal red band, white lantern

| height = {{convert|41|m|ft}}

| focalheight = {{convert|41|m|ft}}

| lens = 1st order Fresnel lens

| lightsource =

| intensity =

| range = {{convert|23|nmi}}[http://www.dgll.nic.in/LightHouse.aspx?Consent_id=282&Module_id=16&LocationId=4&LangId=1 Prong’s Reef Lighthouse] Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships

| characteristic = Fl W 10s.

| fogsignal =

| racon =

| country =

| countrynumber =

| countrylink =

| managingagent = Mumbai Port Trust{{cite rowlett|indw|accessdate=February 9, 2016}}

| heritage =

| module =

}}

Prong's Lighthouse is an offshore lighthouse situated at the southernmost point of Bombay (present-day Mumbai), India in the Colaba (Navy Nagar) area. It marks the entrance to Mumbai Harbour. The lighthouse is a Grade-I heritage structure.

History

During the 18th century, with an increase in the number of shipwrecks in the Bombay harbour region, a need for a lighthouse was met by modifying an onshore watch tower, built by the Portuguese, into the first lighthouse by British port authorities. This was known as the Colaba Point Lighthouse.{{Cite web |title=Prongs reef Lighthouse |url=https://www.dgll.nic.in/DGLL-light-house-location/about-mumbai/prongs-reef-lighthouse |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708210134/https://www.dgll.nic.in/DGLL-light-house-location/about-mumbai/prongs-reef-lighthouse |archive-date=8 July 2024 |access-date=25 August 2024 |website=Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships}}

File:Light House (301944776).jpg

The Prong's Lighthouse was built later, in 1875, by Thomas Ormiston at the cost of Rs. 620,255.{{cite news|title=Darkness dawns on city's lighthouses|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_darkness-dawns-on-city-s-lighthouses_1108|accessdate=19 April 2011|newspaper=Daily News and Analysis|date=3 September 2005}} The lighthouse had a cannon during the British rule, to secure the bay. Once the Prong's Lighthouse was completed and commissioned, the older Colaba Point Lighthouse was rendered obsolete and it was demolished and no trace of it remains today.{{Cite web |last=Shankar |first=Anuradha |date=17 August 2017 |title=The lighthouses of Mumbai harbour |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/the-lighthouses-of-mumbai-harbour/articleshow/32420508.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522082929/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/the-lighthouses-of-mumbai-harbour/articleshow/32420508.cms |archive-date=22 May 2024 |access-date=25 August 2024 |website=Times Travel}}{{Cite web |title=Lighthouses of India: Maharashtra |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/indw.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708183902/https://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/indw.htm |archive-date=8 July 2024 |access-date=25 August 2024 |website=The Lighthouse Directory}}

Description

The tapering {{convert|44|m|ft}} high circular stone tower has a {{convert|23|m|ft}} range and a beam that can be seen at a distance of {{convert|30|km|mi}}. The tower is painted in three horizontal bands, red, white, and black respectively.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mumbaiport.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/5602115689.pdf|title=Prongs reef lighthouse|access-date=2019-04-15|archive-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415095623/http://www.mumbaiport.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/5602115689.pdf|url-status=dead}} It displays a white light, flashing every ten seconds.{{Cite web |last=R.K. Bhanti |title=Indian Lighthouses - An Overview |url=http://www.dgll.nic.in/WriteReadData/Publication/Publication_Pdf_File/LighthousesofIndia(2).pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129144424/https://www.dgll.nic.in/WriteReadData/Publication/Publication_Pdf_File/LighthousesofIndia(2).pdf |archive-date=29 November 2021 |access-date=25 August 2024 |website=Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships}}

Staffing

The Prong's Lighthouse is one of the few offshore lighthouses in the world that are still staffed. It is maintained by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships, that comes under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. The lighthouse has restricted access as it is in a military area. It is accessible during low tide by foot and during high tide by boat, with special permission from the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Port Trust.{{cite book |last1=Tindall |first1=Gilian |title=City of gold |date=1 June 1992 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Mumbai }}

Heritage designation

The lighthouse is one of the three lighthouses in the Mumbai Harbour. The other two lighthouses include the Dolphin Lighthouse and the Sunk Rock Lighthouse.

The lighthouse (and the mangrove area extended between it and Colaba point) was designated a Grade-I heritage structure by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (MCGM) basis the recommendations of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee.{{Cite web |title=Mumbai Metropolitan Region – Heritage Conservation Society's Regulation Guidelines |url=https://mmrhcs.org.in/images/documents/regulation_guidelines/Heritage%20List.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705200132/https://mmrhcs.org.in/images/documents/regulation_guidelines/Heritage%20List.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2024 |access-date=25 August 2024 |website=MMR-HCS |page=6}}

References

External links

[http://www.dgll.nic.in/LightHouses/74_1_LightHouses.aspx Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships]

Category:Lighthouses completed in 1875

Category:Lighthouses in India

Category:Government buildings in Mumbai

Category:1875 establishments in India

Category:Transport in Mumbai