The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Alert conjures up waves of 2004 memories

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 13, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Alert conjures up waves of 2004 memories

City Bureau

The scare is back now; the Marina is totally free from the usual hustle and bustle; fishermen in deep water

— PHOTOS: V.GANESAN and K.PICHUMANI.

The aftermath of alert: An aerial view of the Marina Beach, which had hardly any visitors on Wednesday evening. (Right) The usually busy stretch of the beach near Srinivasapuram wears a deserted look.

CHENNAI: For the fisherfolk of areas such as Nochikuppam, Pattinapakkam and Srinivasapuram along the Marina, Wednesday’s general tsunami alert brought back unpleasant memories of the tsunami in December 2004. Even after the alert was withdrawn later in the evening, they remained apprehensive. Almost the entire stretch along the Marina seemed deserted and off-colour.

“We have not recovered from the previous tsunami yet and the thought of one more has made us nervous. Many of our relatives have gone to safer places, away from the beach,” said Udayakumar, a fisherman in Nochikuppam. The police had instructed the fishermen not to venture out into the seas till further instructions. However, many fishermen like him said they would decide only at about 2 a.m., when they usually leave.

A resident of Pattinapakkam S.Devaraj said: “At about 6 p.m., our neighbours told us we needed to vacate. But we plan to stay on the road till midnight to be safe.” Mr. Devaraj recalled that he escaped the wrath of 2004 tsunami as he was fishing in deep sea. But many other families living near the shores were seen leaving for the relatives’ houses elsewhere in the city and suburbs.

The Meteorological Department sounded a tsunami alert on Wednesday evening and passed on the information to the police department, which, in turn, deployed members of the Swift Action Force (SAF) along the shore and ensured that the vendors and visitors to the beach left immediately.

Commissioner of police Nanchil G. Kumaran told The Hindu that adequate police personnel were posted along the Marina to alert people there.

Police were seen patrolling the area on horses, cars and on foot. They had received the message from the Commissioner’s office at about 6 p.m. Officers present at the scene said it was a difficult task making the people move out, as the beach is packed with visitors at that time of the day.

Some of the approach roads to the beach were blocked using barricades to prevent entry of vehicles.

Suresh Kumar, a balloon seller near the Kannagi statue, had meagre sales. “I usually make about Rs.50 a day, but today it has been terribly low, following the tsunami alert.” The 22-year-old said he was ready to run, the moment he saw huge waves.

Peanut and puffed rice vendor Sivamurthy said he pushed his vehicle somewhere near the main road, fearing a tsunami. “Police men alerted us earlier this evening. I came here near the bus stand, hoping to find more customers, but found very few,” he said, quickly packing steaming boiled peanuts in what was once a colourful page of a magazine.

Corporation’s role

The Chennai Corporation did its bit to pass on alert messages in zones along the coast, using loud speakers mounted on autorickshaws. It made arrangements to keep a hundred of its schools open to ensure availability of safe shelters in the event of a tsunami.

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