Pushpavanam in Tamil means a forest of flowers. That is the last image that will come to anyone’s mind while visiting this fishing hamlet not too far from Vedaranyam today. Cyclone Gaja, which wreaked havoc in Tamil Nadu’s delta districts of Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur with wind speeds of 180 kmph, has deposited tonnes of marine clay, up to a height of 5 feet, partially submerging the hamlet and areas around it up to 500 metres from the shoreline.
‘Forest of sludge’
A combination of strong wind and high tide during the cyclone caused this freak development, government officials said. People have now dubbed the hamlet Seruvanam (a forest of sludge).
A Mani, a fisherman, said that even during the 2004 tsunami, there was no such clay deposit. “It is shocking to see the huge quantity of clay, which has made life difficult for us,” he said. The clay has entered homes and people are finding it extremely difficult to clear it. They are unable to walk around the village as the clay, in some places, is hard at the surface but soft underneath. “We have to take long detours,” he added.
Herculean task
Earthmovers have been deployed in the last few days to push the clay back into the sea but the task has become tough as the clay, over time, has dried up into a solid mass. People and the earthmover operators are hoping that the next high tide will help soften the clay, which is said to be calcareous ooze (marine ooze) — a calcium carbonate mud formed from the bodies of floating organisms.
A group of fishermen said that over 20 fibre boats were damaged and got stuck in the clay. A few goats also got buried.
“We don’t know how long it will take to clear the deposit,” they said.
Officials clueless
A number of government officials have visited the village in the last one month. They were shocked and seemed clueless as to how to clear the huge deposit, the fishermen said.
This is not soothing the frayed nerves of the inhabitants.
“What can we do if even the government officials are clueless. We are already struggling without electricity and no livelihood. All we can do now is to pray to God for a solution,” a resident said dejectedly.