Cyclone Ditwah: Fishing community in Dhanushkodi relocated to cyclone shelters

RAMANATHAPURAM: 28 November 2025: Tamil Nadu: Continue rain lashing in Ramanathapuram and surrounding areas on Friday. Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu
| Photo Credit:
L. BALACHANDAR

As a precautionary measure for cyclone Ditwah, fisherfolk living in the coastal villages of Danushkodi were evacuated and housed in cyclone shelters here on Friday.

Furthermore, devotees and tourists have been banned from travelling to Dhanushkodi in vehicles.

As the Ditwah cyclone was formed in the Southwest Bay of Bengal on November 27, the Chennai Meteorological Centre warned that this system was likely to move towards North Tamil Nadu, bringing the possibility of heavy rain to Ramanathapuram district.

Due to this, winds blew at a speed of 50 km/hr in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait near Pamban. Furthermore, there was continuous rain accompanying the wind.

The sea in the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar regions of Dhanushkodi appeared rough. While bathing in the Dhanushkodi sea was prohibited earlier on Thursday, the police imposed a ban on visiting the areas of Dhanushkodi, Mukuntharayar Chatram, and Arichal Munai, on Friday too.

As a precautionary measure fisher folk from the Dhanushkodi fishing villages of Kambipaadu and Paalam were evacuated by the Disaster Response Team and Revenue Department officials and sheltered in the multi-purpose cyclone protection centres established on Rameswaram Island. The Dhanushkodi road was also closed.

Boats damaged

Due to heavy winds and rough sea conditions, a mechanised fishing trawler anchored in the Rameswaram sea was grounded and damaged.

As Fisheries Department had previously advised fishermen not to venture into the sea, fishermen in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait coastal areas, including Rameswaram, Pamban, Mandapam, Dhanushkodi, and Thangachimadam, have not gone fishing for the fifth consecutive day.

Additionally, the number fourcyclone Warning cage has been hoisted at Pamban.

Train service stopped

Consequent to the heavy wind alert, rail traffic was also suspended on the Pamban Bridge, and trains were terminated at Mandapam and Ramanathapuram on Friday.

Passenger trains bound for Rameswaram were operated only up to Ramanathapuram, and express trains were operated only up to Mandapam.

On Saturday, the passenger train running from Madurai to Rameswaram will run only up to Uchippuli Railway Station, said officials.

Additionally, the Southern Railway has announced that the following trains would operate only up to Ramanathapuram Railway Station: Chennai-Rameswaram Express, Tambaram-Rameswaram Express, Thiruvananthapuram-Rameswaram Express, and Trichy-Rameswaram Express.

The Boat Mail (Rameswaram-Chennai) and Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express trains will operate only up to Mandapam Railway Station.