Tsunami victims relive painful memories of tragedy

In Nagapattinam,the worst-hit in Tamil Nadu,where giant waves claimed over 6,000 lives and rendered about a lakh homeless in the district,painful memories of the tsunami still linger,but people have moved on.

During the past six years,Government,NGOs and various voluntary organisations pumped in crores of money towards rehabilitation of the affected people.

Children of tsunami-hit coastal areas of the state now have access to high quality English medium education,which was absent earlier,while the youth have taken up entrepreneurial ventures.

According to NGO volunteers engaged in rehabilitation of the affected,about 40 per cent of the women of tsunami-hit areas have become entrepreneurs and are making products such as footwear,leather articles,pickles and coir products.

Many other women have embarked on modern fish marketing activities,tailoring,mobile canteens,handicrafts making and even driving and masonry.

Besides formation of self-help groups have also helped the district’s economy to grow.

A study conducted by Rejuvenate India Movement (RIM),an NGO,more than eight tsunami-hit villages in Tarangambadi taluk of Nagapattinam district has revealed a remarkable improvement in the learning skills of tsunami-hit students.

Top multinational companies have started English medium schools. Consumer electronics giant Samsung India has opened a school at Chinnangudi village near Tarangmabadi.

In Chennai,about 500 residents of Odai Kuppam and Odai Managar at Besant Nagar here offered prayers and thronged the Elliots Beach on the sixth anniversary of the tsunami.

About 500 women at the Marina here took out a “milk-pot” procession and later poured the milk in the sea as a mark of respect for the departed.

Candle-light march and memorial service were also held.

Fishermen stayed away from the sea as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives on 26 December,2004.

A section of fishermen alleged that they were yet to get the complete compensation and relief package announced by the Central and state governments.

In Tarangambadi in Nagapattinam district,where more than 700 lives had been killed due to the tsunami,the scars of the disaster have faded with time and the town is abuzz with tourism activities.

A large number of foreign tourists,mostly from the Scandinavian countries,visit the town every day,which has two major attractions – the ‘Ozone-Rich Beach’ and the majestic Dansborg fort that withstood the tsunami attack.

The Danes,who came to Tarangambadi in the early 17th century,built the ‘Dansborg’ Fort in 1620 AD designing it based on the splendid Viking architecture.

It is situated right at the sea-front,barely about 100 metres from the sea. The tsunami on December 26,2004 could not affect even a single brick in this structure,officials say.

The Department of Archaeology is now constructing a granite yard around the fort to conserve the heritage structure.

Besides ‘Dansborg’,foreign tourists love Tarangambadi for its ‘Ozone Rich’ beach.

It is reported that Tarangambadi ranks next only to Switzerland in having high dose of Ozone content in the breeze,which has a rejuvenating effect on health.

Every year between October to March,Ozone in the breeze is reported to be high.

Asia’s first Protestant Church,the ‘New Jerusalem’ church built in AD 1718 is a marvellous piece of architecture at Tarangambadi. The church is under the control of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) and is in use even today.

The Neemrana Group of Hotels has converted a historic beach view bungalow as a heritage hotel at Tarangambadi. The rooms are fully occupied by foreign tourists. Being the only Star Hotel in Nagai district,the ‘Bungalow on the Beach’ attracts all VVIPs visiting Nagapattinam district.

However,for native tourists,facilities are rather poor.

“Even basic amenities like toilets,drinking water and other facilities are lacking. Low-cost boarding and lodging facilities,shopping complex,beach parks,amusement parks for children and similar facilities,if provided by Government,would certainly give a fillip to tourism activities,” said M A Sultan,a Tarangambadi-based historian.