Rameswaram: Residents of Dhanushkodi on Tuesday observed the 50th anniversary of a cyclone that swept off a train, carrying 300 passengers, to it at Kambipaadu hamlet off Rameswaram. The horror of it remains fresh in the mind of assistant loco pilot K. Nagalingam.

The train had halted at Kambipaadu after a signal failure when Nagalingam saw the gigantic waves rip the train’s engine off the track and drag the bogies into the ocean. Nagalingam and a few others managed to climb atop a parked goods train and jump into the ocean to rescue a few people.

“The bogies had been swept into the ocean, but we managed to save a few people who stayed afloat. Even my miraculous escape is an act of God,” he told DC.

S. Rajendran, a trader, was among the optimists who confidently said, “People struggled even without basic amenities after the cyclone. Now, we hear that the government plans to lay a new road soon. We are confident that the Dhanushkodi we saw before the cyclone will re-emerge.”

A schoolteacher, K. Periasamy, wants a decent road or a state-sponsored jeep which will be most helpful for children to be able to come to school without difficulty.“The kids have to rely on tourist jeeps or fishermen’s custom-made bikes to travel to school. If denied space, they skip school.”

The lone middle school, opened by the state government in 2006, is some solace to Dhanushkodi residents who are happy seeing 72 students studying there now.