DHANUSHKODI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
Dhanushkodi is a ghost town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island in Tamil nadu, India. It is situated to the South-East of Pamban and is about 18 miles (29 km) west of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The town was destroyed during the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone and remains uninhabited in the aftermath. A disaster hit the little port town of Dhanushkodi swallowing the town and taking many lives. It all started when a super cyclone with a wind velocity of 270 km/hr hit Dhanushkodi on the night of 22nd December, 1964. Connectivity back then was not as advanced as it is today. There was no Internet connection and the Pamban bridge was the only way to reach Dhanushkodi other than waterways. As a result, the little town which was once a tourist spot with several pilgrims and fishermen, was reduced to ruins. The tidal waves are said to have gone up to 20 feet. The Pamban Dhanushkodi Passenger train which left Pamban with 110 passengers and 5 members of the railway staff was hit by the high tidal waves and the whole train got submerged under water killing all 115 passengers. The Pamban bridge, which connected India to the Pamban island (Rameswaram island) also got destroyed leaving more than 3000 people stranded on the island. What remains one of the most memorable acts of bravery in India, four radio operators chose to remain in Dhanushkodi to broadcast updates during the storm. They survived by clinging on to the remains of the Pamban bridge for 12 hours for which they were admired and rewarded later. Over 800 people died in Dhanushkodi alone and the overall death toll was close to 1800. Before the cyclone hit Dhanushkodi, it had a railway station and jetty service to transport travelers to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. It was a busy port town with a working post office, a temple visited regularly by devotees and a church attended by locals and visitors alike. All that is left now is a pristine beach town with a population of around 500 comprising around 50 fisher-folk dwellings.
LOCATION
GETTING THERE
Nearest railway station : Rameshwaram, about 19 KM
Nearest airport : Tuticorin Airport, about 142 KM
