>Glennznl at 06:44, 31 May 2021

2021-05-31T06:44:05Z

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{{About|the abandoned town in Tamil Nadu|the unreleased Malayalam film|Dhanushkodi (film)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Dhanushkodi
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| other_name =
| settlement_type = Former settlement
| image_skyline = Final Dhanush 002.jpg
| image_alt = Dhanushkodi
| image_caption = Aerial view
| nickname = Ram Setu
| image_map =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Tamil Nadu#India
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_map_alt = Map showing location of Dhanushkodi within Tamil Nadu
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Tamil Nadu
| coordinates = {{coord|9.152011|79.445851|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint =
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{IND}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Ramanathapuram district|Ramanathapuram]]
| established_title =
| established_date =
| extinct_title = Destroyed
| extinct_date = 1964
| founder =
| unit_pref = Metric

| area_footnotes =
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| elevation_m = 0
| population_total =
| population_as_of = 2001
| population_footnotes =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
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| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| area_code = +04567
| area_code_type = [[Communications in India|Telephone code]]
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| timezone = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset = +05:30
}}
'''Dhanushkodi''' is an [[abandoned town]] at the south-eastern tip of [[Pamban Island]] of the state of [[Tamil Nadu]] in [[India]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/dhanushkodi-ram-setu-adams-bridge-rameshwaram-tamil-nadu-travel-india-tourism-lifetr/1/773610.html|title=Did you know? Dhanushkodi is the place where you can see the origin of the Ram Setu!}}</ref> It is south-east of [[Pamban]] and is about {{convert|24|km|mi}} west of [[Talaimannar]] in [[Sri Lanka]]. The town was destroyed during the [[1964 Rameswaram cyclone]] and remains uninhabited in the aftermath.

==Geography==
Dhanushkodi is on the tip of Pamban island, separated from the mainland by the [[Palk Strait]].

==Transport==
[[File:Dhan2.jpg|thumb|Remains of Dhanushkodi railway station]]
The National Highway completed the 9.5-km-long road – 5 km from Mukuntharayar Chathiram to Dhanushkodi and 4.5 km from [http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/modi-to-inaugurate-dhanushkodi-road/article19360792.ece Dhanushkodi to Arichamunai.] Tourists can visit by their own vehicle and end up with [[Pillars of Ashoka]]. Until 2016, Dhanushkodi was reachable either on foot along the seashore or in jeeps.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/28/stories/2010062858210300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703063507/http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/28/stories/2010062858210300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2010|title=Dhanushkodi still attracts tourists|date=28 June 2010|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> In 2016, a road was completed from the village of Mukundarayar Chathiram.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/road-to-dhanushkodi-may-be-opened-by-monthend/article8190642.ece|date=4 February 2016|title=Road to Dhanushkodi may be opened by month-end|author=D.J. Walter Scot|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/article409395.ece|title=Four-lane road planned for Dhanushkodi|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref>

A [[metre gauge railway]] line connected [[Mandapam]] on mainland India to Dhanushkodi.<ref>{{cite book| title=Shree Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya Samaj: A brief History & Glory of our fore-fathers| first=Raja Pawan| last=Jethwa| year=2007| chapter=Section II: Mileage wise available Details of Railway lines laid| pages=63–70}}</ref> [[Boat Mail|Boat mail express]] ran from [[Chennai Egmore railway station|Chennai Egmore]] to Dhanushkodi till 1964 when the metre-gauge branch line from Pamban to Dhanushkodi was destroyed during the [[1964 Dhanushkodi cyclone]].<ref>{{cite news|title='Boat Mail' to run on main line from August 1|first=Syed Muthahar|last=Saqaf|date=11 June 2010 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/article452738.ece|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/17/stories/2006071705960300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027141816/http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/17/stories/2006071705960300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 October 2007|title=Their sentiment to metre gauge train is unfathomable|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=17 July 2006|first=C|last=Jaishankar}}</ref> In 2003, Southern Railway sent a project report to Ministry of Railways for re-laying a {{convert|16|km}} railway line to Dhanushkodi from Rameswaram. The planning commission looked into the possibility of a new railway line between Dhanushkodi and Rameswaram in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=Railway budget may put Dhanushkodi back on track |author=C. Jaishankar |date=26 February 2010 |url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/26/stories/2010022651500300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302203544/http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/26/stories/2010022651500300.htm|url-status=dead|newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=2 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Poll-bound TN, Kerala will get more trains |newspaper=The Asian Age |date=26 February 2011 |url=http://archive.asianage.com/india/poll-bound-tn-kerala-will-get-more-trains-754}}</ref>

==1964 cyclone==

{{main article|1964 Rameswaram 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 {{convert|5|m}} 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 {{convert|0.5|km|}} in width, stretching {{convert|7|km}} from north to south, submerged under the sea.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=G. G. Vaz|author2=M. Hariprasad|author3=B. R. Rao|author4=V. Subba Rao|date=10 March 2007|title=Subsidence of southern part of erstwhile Dhanushkodi township, Tamil Nadu|journal=Current Science|volume=92|pages=671–672}}</ref>

On 17 December 1964, a depression formed at 5°N 93°E in the South Andaman Sea. On 19 December, it intensified into a [[tropical cyclone|cyclonic storm]]. After 21 December 1964, it moved westwards, almost in a straight line, at the rate of {{convert|400|to|550|km}} per day. On 22 December, it crossed [[Vavunia]] in [[Sri Lanka]] and made landfall at Dhanushkodi on the night of 22–23 December 1964. Estimated wind velocity was {{convert|280|km/h}} and tidal waves were {{convert|7|m}} high.<ref name="ApplMet1966">{{cite journal|author1=Shashi M Kulshreshta|author2=Madan G Gupta|date=June 1966|title=Satellite Study of the Rameswaram Cyclonic Storm of 20–23 December 1964|url=http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0450(1966)005%3C0373%3ASSOTRC%3E2.0.CO%3B2&ct=2|journal=Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology|volume=5|issue=3|pages=373–376|doi=10.1175/1520-0450(1966)005<0373:ssotrc>2.0.co;2|ISSN=0021-8952|doi-access=free}}</ref>

An estimated 1,800 people died in the cyclonic storm on 22 December including 115 passengers on board the Pamban-Dhanushkodi passenger train.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G8ZSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E30DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4392,2097652|title=India Train, 150 Aboard, Swept Away By Big Wave|date=26 December 1964|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|agency=[[United Press International|UPI]]|page=3A}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XYgtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dpwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4836,6829745|title=1,800 Asians Feared Dead After Cyclone and Tidal Wave|date=28 December 1964|newspaper=Reading Eagle|agency=[[United Press International|UPI]]|page=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-xkTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rZYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6560,4311447&hl=en|title=Ships, Planes Search for Survivors|date=28 December 1964|newspaper=The Age|agency=A.A.P.-Reuters|page=4}}</ref> The entire town was marooned and the [[Madras state|Government of Madras]] declared Dhanushkodi as a [[ghost town]], unfit for living.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/last-station-master-of-danushkodi-passes-away/article4745452.ece|title=Eye-witness account of the cyclone|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref>

In December 2004, around the 40th anniversary of the deadly cyclone, the sea around Dhanushkodi receded about {{convert|500|m}} from the coastline, briefly exposing the submerged part of the town before massive [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|tsunami]] waves struck the coast.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zeenews.com/news627420.html|title=Submerged temple tower visible in Dhanushkodi|work=Zee news}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=G. G. Vaz|author2=M. Hariprasad|author3=B. R. Rao|author4=V. Subba Rao|name-list-style=amp|date=March 2007|title=Subsidence of southern part of erstwhile Dhanushkodi township, Tamil Nadu – evidences from bathymetry, side scan and underwater videography|url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/mar102007/671.pdf|journal=Current Science|type=PDF|volume=92|issue=5|pages=671–675}}</ref>

The wreckage of the Rameswaram-Dhanushkodi passenger train, which was hit by the cyclone and tidal waves that struck the area on Dec. 22, lies half submerged here. More than 115 people died in the area-wide calamity 1964.12.31 (UPI Radiophoto)

The locomotive in the picture is B Class 4-6-0 No. 31376 built by North British.[https://www.irfca.org/gallery/accident/img102_001.jpg.html?]

==See also==
* [[Dhanushkodi Tirtham]]
* [[Palk Strait bridge]]
* [[Ramanathaswamy Temple]]
* [[List of lost lands]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dhanushkodi}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041014051457/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/03/06/stories/2004030600010100.htm Travel article on Dhanushkodi]

[[Category:Places in the Ramayana]]
[[Category:Gulf of Mannar]]
[[Category:India–Sri Lanka border crossings]]
[[Category:Ghost towns in India]]

Dhanushkodi - Revision history

>Glennznl at 06:44, 31 May 2021