Hundreds of fisherfolk from Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu districts on Saturday paid homage to those who died in the tsunami of 2004. Photos of those who died were exhibited in fishing villages, pots of milk and flowers were offered to the sea, silent processions taken out and candles were lit at small memorials in the villages.
Jalandhran Chettiyar of Arangamkuppam in Pulicat said the people from the 15 fishing villages did not venture into the sea on Saturday as had been the practice all these years. âWe held early morning prayers. It was in 2004 that we learnt that the sea could be so ferocious and there was something called a tsunami. From our area, two children and an elderly woman lost their lives in that tsunami,â he recalled. K. Bharathi of South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association said that though the tsunami had brought in unimaginable damage and loss of lives, it turned the governmentâs focus on fishing hamlets. âIn under two years,