Dhanushkodi is an abandoned town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island of the state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is south-east of Pamban and is about west of Talaimannar in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The town was destroyed during the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone and remains uninhabited in the aftermath. Although devoid of inhabitants, Dhanushkodi remains a tourist attraction due to its historical and mythological relevance.

Geography

Dhanushkodi is on the tip of Pamban island, separated from the Indian mainland by the Palk Strait.

Transport

The National Highway completed the 9.5-km-long road – 5 km from Mukuntharayar Chathiram to Dhanushkodi and 4.5 km from Dhanushkodi to Arichal Munai. 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 railway line to Dhanushkodi from Rameswaram. The planning commission looked into the possibility of a new railway line between Dhanushkodi and Rameswaram in 2010.

1964 cyclone

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 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 in width, stretching 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 per day. On 22 December, it crossed Vavuniya in

and made landfall at Dhanushkodi on the night of 22–23 December 1964. Estimated wind velocity was and tidal waves were 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 A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, unfit for living. Around the 40th anniversary of the deadly cyclone, the sea around Dhanushkodi receded about from the coastline, briefly exposing the submerged part of the town before massive tsunami waves struck the coast on 26 December 2004.

Gallery

File:Dhan6.jpg, Mini Trucks take people to Land's End, Dhanushkodi, through deep sand and shallows, using planks put under wheels by local kids as the vehicle struggles. File:Dhan5.jpg, The sea from Land's End, Dhanushkodi. Sri Lanka is about 15 miles from here. File:Kothandaramaswamy Temple.jpg, Front view of the Kothandaramaswamy Temple at Dhanushkodi File:Dhan18.jpg, The Gulf of Mannar Marine Sanctuary is host to many marine animals and birds. Birds sighted here include flamingoes, curlew, gulls, terns, sandpipers, plovers, reef herons and egrets. File:Dhan14.jpg, A church in Dhanushkodi.

References

External links