ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the geological and geotechnical details of the Lakshadweep islands, a union territory of India. Lakshadweep comprises 27 islands in the south-western coast of India. The soils in all the islands of Lakshadweep were formed from the fragmentation of coral limestone. The soils in the islands are porous, extremely drained and poor in water-holding capacity. The soils are permeable, and therefore the rainwater infiltrates quickly into the underlying substratum of coral limestone. There are no streams or major surface freshwater bodies on the island. The locally available soils and rocks were used as foundations of structures in the olden days. In modern-day constructions, the foundation types used in general for structures in Lakshadweep are rubble foundation, isolated foundation, strip/raft foundation and direct mud circulation (DMC) piles. The islands are vulnerable to natural hazards like cyclones and coastal erosion. Protection of coral reefs and retting of coconut husks along the banks will aid in reducing the coastal erosion. The chapter also presents a case study on geotechnical investigation for the Agatti airport in one of the islands of Lakshadweep.
