The town that disappeared – Dhanushkodi - a Case Study

Abstract

Danushkodi was a small town at the southern tip of the Rameswaram island, at the eastern coast of theTamil Nadu state of India. Danushkodi island is about 29 km West of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. It was in December 1964 a cyclone wiped out the town of Dhanushkodi , the sea also took away 2000 lives and crippling power supply and communications .Before the 1964 cyclone, Dhanushkodi was a flourishing tourist and pilgrimage town. Since Sri Lanka is just 31 km away, there were many ferry services between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar of Srilanka , transporting travelers and goods across the sea. There were hotels, textile shops and dharmashalas catering to these pilgrims and travelers. From temples to churches, houses, dharmashalas, roads and railway station, all were destroyed leaving no signs of life. Once upon a time Dhanushkodi was full of flourishing tourist but now it has become Ghost town. However the remains of this town still exist recalling the old memories of the town attracting many tourists, but the remaining structures are currently threatened by erosion and negligence in restoration. The paper reviews the history of the town that disappeared and recalls the memory of the town and also discuss about potential of developing the remains of Dhanushkodi Island as tourist place.