The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : After tsunami, first visitor sails in from Port Blair

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

After tsunami, first visitor sails in from Port Blair

By N. Ravi Kumar

CHENNAI, DEC. 30. Nancowry sailed into the Chennai port at the stroke of dawn on Thursday, the first passenger vessel to come here from Port Blair after Sunday's tsunami.

The ship, on contract with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration, brought a full complement of 1, 210 passengers, including many foreigners, elderly and 36 students of a school in Madhya Pradesh who went to the islands on picnic.

But it was a group of 27, including 10 children, that waited at the passenger terminal at North Quay before boarding Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses to different destinations in the city, which caught the eye. It was not carrying neatly packed cartons or suitcases. The members of the joint family engaged in petty business and odd jobs gathered their belongings and wrapped them in old clothes. "Our group comprising 17 adults and 10 children is returning to Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh," said Kannan, even as one of his sons held on to a kitten.

His wife, Nanamma, however was concerned at her relatives, including five children, in Neelapura on the island, where almost every structure was flattened. "We climbed up a hill and saved our lives. But the water washed away most of our belongings," she added, pointing that the fare from Port Blair to Chennai cost them a fortune. The fare for the 763-nautical mile voyage ranges from Rs. 1,522 to 5,892.

But that was not something that would bother Basha, who runs a chappal showroom in Chennai. His only concern was to take the first ship back home.

Hugging his relative, who came to receive him, the 54-year-old Basha, said: "The fear remains ... I saw huge trees swaying while the earth shook wildly. Even while walking now, I feel the effect."

Contacting his family in the United Kingdom is the first priority for Tim Holden, a forester, who flew to the Islands on December 17.

Trip to temple

Nancowry also brought 100 women and some children bound for a temple at Melmaruvathur. Mala Elangovan, a woman in the group, said, "most of us are housewives and had planned for this trip before the earthquake."

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