Garden of the tsunami dead to shield Indian coast

Seruthur villagers pass by saplings which carry the names of residents killed by the tsunami. Picture / Reuters

SERUTHUR, India - Every morning, fisherman Mariappan carries a pot of water to a patch of land enclosed by fishing nets near the sea in south India and pours it around a sapling which carries the name of his dead wife.

It is one of several dozen coconut and casuarina saplings planted on the beach last week and each one has the name of a resident of the fishing village killed by the December 26 tsunami.

The nursery has been named the 'Garden of the Tsunami Dead' and residents of Seruthur hope it will shield them if the sea erupts violently ever again like it did last month and killed more than 160 people here and almost 16,000 across India.

"The plant reminds me of her," says the frail, 60-year-old who lost his wife, daughter and five grandchildren, pointing at the coconut sapling which carries a small green board bearing his wife's name, Thangaponnu.

"I will take care of it," he adds, looking at it longingly. "She was buried in a mass grave and there is nothing to mark her resting place. At least this sapling has a spot of its own."

The sapling is one of thousands authorities in the southern state of Tamil Nadu are planting, aware too late the devastation could have been reduced by natural barriers such as palm groves.

The saplings, which will grow into trees over the next four to five years, along with a planned wall along the coast, will provide a buffer against possible tsunamis and storm surges.

To help ensure the young plants are nurtured, authorities asked villagers to adopt one for each dead relative and name it after them to protect future generations.

"We plan to spend more than two billion rupees ($64.6 million) over the next year or two and plant saplings at vulnerable places along the coast," Tamil Nadu Forest Minister M Vaidyalingam told Reuters.

"Initially, they will be nurtured by relatives of the dead and later the forest department and women's self-help groups in villages will jointly manage them."

The tsunami killed more than 163,000 people across Asia and Africa. Tamil Nadu lost almost 8000 people.

The Indian Ocean tsunami highlighted the life-saving benefits of mangroves and reefs and Indian environmental experts say areas that suffered the most damage had no such natural barriers.

Moreover, Tamil Nadu villages hit by the tsunami were sitting ducks as most of the construction, mostly shacks housing fishing families, were on the beach or close to the high tide line.

Authorities said the tsunami had rung alarm bells among villagers about the need to prevent erosion, protect beachside forests and respect coastal regulations forbidding construction within 500 metres of the sea.

Fisherman Lakshmanan and his wife Thangalakshmi watched in horror as the killer waves razed their home on Seruthur beach and swept away their four sons.

The boys survived by clinging to the tops of coconut palms. Dozens of others were not so lucky.

"I wish there were more trees for everyone to hold on to," says Thangalakshmi.

- REUTERS