Kalam memorial, new Dhanushkodi road draw huge crowd

The photographs and paintings on Kalam, along with the installed Agni missile, were the centre of attraction for most visitors on Saturday. A few of them were also seen taking the customary selfies! A group of differently abled people from Salem and surrounding areas also visited the memorial, before proceeding on to Dhanushkodi, after the new road to Arichalmunai was inaugurated on July 27. 

One of the differently-abled persons, Anandhan from Salem, said that though he had visited Peikarumbu last year to pay his respects to Kalam, he could not visit Dhanushkodi as the road was yet to be laid. Only a van was allowed to pass through and since he could not travel by van, the trip remained incomplete. “I am very happy that the road has been inaugurated. I can finally travel to Dhanushkodi,” an elated Anandhan said. 

Meanwhile, following the news of inauguration of the Dhanushkodi road, the group had arranged their own vehicle to travel. They said that they were overwhelmed by the beauty of the place, especially at the sight where the road comes so close to the beach. “This helped us a great deal as we didn’t have to walk much,” Anandhan said.

Anandhan’s friend Ramesh Bala said that they had been longing to see the remnants of the buildings that were destroyed in the cyclone 50 years ago at Dhanushkodi and could finally do so. He also thanked the Central government for laying the new road. 

A group of fishermen also thanked the government for the bus service to Dhanushkodi. At present, only two buses ply to Dhanushkodi and the frequency of buses will be increased in the future, officials of the Transport Department said. 

An official further said that a proposal to operate another new bus service has also been sent to the State government. With this, tourist inflow will definitely go up, he said. At present, vans charge Rs 100 from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi, but the bus fare is only Rs 10, the official said.