On last legs at land’s end

Chennai:

Dhanushkodi

is no longer a ‘ghost town’, almost entirely wiped out by the super-cyclone of December 1964. Overrun by tourists with little knowledge of its heritage status, the abandoned settlement is hurtling towards collapse. Mainly due to apathy of a government that has allowed shops to be set up next to the fragile structures.

While the vestiges of a majestic church, a temple, a railway station, a post office and some cocoon-shaped storm shelters tell the sombre story of the tragedy that struck 55 years ago, thatched huts selling shells, trinkets and fish fry spilling over from the road onto the sands speak of neglect. The eroded train tracks jutting out of the sand, are covered with wild vegetation and trash.

The slapdash conservation of the

ruins

of Dhanushkodi, devastated by giant tidal waves on the intervening night of December 22 and 23, 1964, will dispel all doubts about the government’s lack of sense of tragedy and contemporary relevance of historic events. Post the 1964 tragedy, the 5km stretch from Mukuntharayar Chathiram near

Rameswaram

to Dhanushkodi was declared unfit for human habitation. Now, barring 200 households, descendants of earliest settlers, no one is allowed to live there. Arichamunai (‘eroded tip’) is another 4.5km away, the farthest one can go on foot.

It was only in 2017 after a new road was laid by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that accessing Dhanushkodi became easier. Now any vehicle can reach Arichamunai. The number of visitors eager to visit the ruins of Dhanushkodi and the tip of Arichamunai has increased exponentially in the past couple of years. But the lack of preservation efforts and vision to explore the heritage potential of the area has led to further decay.

A ramshackle board, put up by the Dhanushkodi-Ram Sethu Tourist, Vendors’ Welfare Association, cautions visitors against damaging the church wall. Let alone insulating the ruins from the elements, there are no public convenience facilities and the area has turned into an open urinal and dump yard for plastic and food waste. It is as if the state is only waiting for the remains to crumble.

Tamil Nadu must immediately barricade the ruins to protect them from vandals, vendors and disruptive visitors. The adjacent stalls need to be cleared and given a dedicated stretch to carry on business. A route should be chalked out for tourists along a stretch that is a couple of kilometres long covering all the majestic ruins. A fitting way in which the structures can tell their story.


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