Tsunami victims remembered in Tamil Nadu

Emotional relatives remembered their near and dear ones, 13 years after the waves swallowed them on a Sunday morning in coastal districts like Chennai, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam.

Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar and Handloom Minister OS Manian paid tributes to the departed souls here and at Nagapattinam, respectively.

Mourners held special prayers, took out candle light processions and paid floral tributes, besides pouring milk into the sea in these districts to remember their loved ones who were swept away by the giant tidal waves.

Prayers and tributes were held in Chennai and Nagapattinam, with the latter bearing the brunt of the tsunami.

At Nagapattinam, when the clock struck 9:17 AM, people rose to observe a minute's silence to pay homage to the 6065 persons who lost their lives.

Floral tributes were paid at the Tsunami memorial park in the Nagapattinam collectorate complex.

Inmates of a Home for tsunami orphans participated in the events.

District Collector C Sureshkumar and other officials participated in silent marches, candle light processions and in paying floral tributes.

Memorial services were held in neighbouring Karaikal.

At Velankanni, a special mass was conducted at the Shrine Basillica in memory of the tsunami victims.

A silent procession was also held.

At Nagore, tributes were paid to those who were buried in the land owned by the Dargah.

The graveyard of the dargah of Saint Hazrath Syed Shahul Hameed Quadir Wali at Nagore, which is more than 500 years old, witnessed mass burials 13 years ago.

More than 300 bodies were buried here, of which nearly 150 were Muslims. The rest were those of Hindus and Christians. At Tarangambadi, an inter-faith prayer was held.

Fishermen in coastal districts kept off the sea as a mark of respect for the victims.

Triggered by an undersea earthquake in Indonesia, a massive tsunami struck the Tamil Nadu coast on December 26, 2004, causing massive damage to life and property across the state.

Nagapattinam faced the maximum fury of the natural disaster even as other coastal districts like Chennai, Cuddalore and Tiruvallur also suffered.

About 7,000 people in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry died on that day.

The government later launched a series of rehabilitation measures for the affected people.