Chennai: Relatives of thousands who perished
in the December 2004 tsunami on Monday observed the seventh
anniversary of the tragedy by lighting candles and offering
floral tributes at memorials in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
In Chennai, family members of the deceased gathered at
Marina beach and offered prayers.
Beaches and coastal villages in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam
districts, that bore the brunt of the tsunami, saw relatives
of victims offering prayers.
The 'tsunami memory pillar' in Devanampattinam in Cuddalore
district was decorated with flowers, while many poured milk in
the sea and performed rituals.
In Puducherry, Chief Minister N Rangasamy, his cabinet
colleagues, Speaker V Sabapathy and opposition Congress
legislator K Lakshminarayanan were among those who paid homage
to the victims near Mahatma Gandhi statue.
Sand sculptures depicting the horrors of the tsunami made
by artists of Puducherry were on display at the seashore in
Veerampattinam coastal village.
In Karaikal, fishermen took out silent rallies on the
occasion.
Coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of
Puducherry were badly affected in the Tsunami waves that
struck India on this day in 2004 following an earthquake off
the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 26, 2011, 13:54