The recent Cyclone Michaung, which briefly paralysed life in Chennai and parts of its neighbouring districts, also rekindled memories among sections of people in the State about what happened to Dhanushkodi in December 1964.
By any yardstick, the December 1964 cyclone, known as the Rameswaram cyclone, can be called the worst that Tamil Nadu has seen as the event had wiped out Dhanushkodi, a vibrant coastal town. Despite the passage of time, certain aspects of any natural calamity appear to be similar or repetitive. For example, even then, the government headed by M. Bakthavatsalam, the last Congress Chief Minister, was pulled up by the Opposition for lack of preparedness.
The Chief Minister’s defence was that the cyclone was an “act of God for which none could be blamed”. On the positive side, the Air Force’s aircraft – Dakotas – were deployed to drop food packets, bread and butter. A report published by The Hindu on December 27, 1964 said: “About 15,000 food packets have been airdropped in the last three days by the IAF planes.”
