5/5 Ronney K. 1 year ago on Google
Best
beach
on
east
coast.
Dhanushkodi
is
an
abandoned
town
at
the
south-eastern
tip
of
Pamban
Island
of
the
state
of
Tamil
Nadu
in
India.
It
is
south-east
of
Pamban
and
is
about
24
kilometres
(15
mi)
west
of
Talaimannar
in
Sri
Lanka.
The
town
was
destroyed
during
the
1964
Rameswaram
cyclone
and
remains
uninhabited
in
the
aftermath.
Today
only
a
few
vendors
and
restaurants
can
be
seen
at
Dhanushkodi
during
the
day
along
with
the
ruins
of
the
long
destroyed
town.
Dhanushkodi
is
on
the
tip
of
Pamban
island,
separated
from
the
mainland
by
the
Palk
Strait.
The
National
Highway
completed
the
9.5-km-long
road
–
5
km
from
Mukuntharayar
Chathiram
to
Dhanushkodi
and
4.5
km
from
Dhanushkodi
to
Arichamunai.
Until
2016,
Dhanushkodi
was
reachable
either
on
foot
along
the
seashore
or
in
jeeps.
In
2016,
a
road
was
completed
from
the
village
of
Mukundarayar
Chathiram.
A
metre
gauge
railway
line
connected
Mandapam
on
mainland
India
to
Dhanushkodi.
Boat
mail
express
ran
from
Chennai
Egmore
to
Dhanushkodi
till
1964
when
the
metre-gauge
branch
line
from
Pamban
to
Dhanushkodi
was
destroyed
during
the
1964
Dhanushkodi
cyclone.
In
2003,
Southern
Railway
sent
a
project
report
to
Ministry
of
Railways
for
re-laying
a
16
kilometres
(9.9
mi)
railway
line
to
Dhanushkodi
from
Rameswaram.
The
planning
commission
looked
into
the
possibility
of
a
new
railway
line
between
Dhanushkodi
and
Rameswaram
in
2010.
The
area
around
Rameswaram
is
prone
to
high-intensity
geomorphic
activity.
A
scientific
study
conducted
by
the
Geological
Survey
of
India
indicated
that
the
southern
part
of
Dhanushkodi
facing
the
Gulf
of
Mannar
sank
by
almost
5
metres
(16
ft)
in
1948
and
1949,
due
to
vertical
tectonic
movement
of
land
parallel
to
the
coastline.
As
a
result
of
this,
a
patch
of
land
of
about
0.5
kilometres
(0.31
mi)
in
width,
stretching
7
kilometres
(4.3
mi)
from
north
to
south,
was
submerged
under
the
sea.
On
17
December
1964,
a
tropical
depression
formed
at
5°N
93°E
in
the
South
Andaman
Sea.
On
19
December,
it
intensified
into
a
cyclonic
storm.
After
21
December
1964,
it
moved
westwards,
almost
in
a
straight
line,
at
the
rate
of
400
to
550
kilometres
(250
to
340
mi)
per
day.
On
22
December,
it
crossed
Vavuniya
in
Sri
Lanka
and
made
landfall
at
Dhanushkodi
on
the
night
of
22–23
December
1964.
Estimated
wind
velocity
was
280
kilometres
per
hour
(170
mph)
and
tidal
waves
were
7
metres
(23
ft)
high.
An
estimated
1,800
people
died
in
the
cyclonic
storm
on
22
December
including
115
passengers
on
board
the
Pamban-Dhanushkodi
passenger
train.
The
entire
town
was
marooned
and
the
Government
of
Madras
declared
Dhanushkodi
as
a
ghost
town,
unfit
for
living.
In
December
2004,
around
the
40th
anniversary
of
the
deadly
cyclone,
the
sea
around
Dhanushkodi
receded
about
500
metres
(1,600
ft)
from
the
coastline,
briefly
exposing
the
submerged
part
of
the
town
before
massive
tsunami
waves
struck
the
coast.
The
wreckage
of
the
Rameswaram-Dhanushkodi
passenger
train,
which
was
hit
by
the
cyclone
and
tidal
waves
that
struck
the
area
on
December
22,
lies
half
submerged
here.
More
than
115
people
died
in
the
area-wide
calamity
1964.12.31
The
locomotive
in
the
picture
is
B
Class
4-6-0
No.
31376
built
by
North
British