KANCHEEPURAM: As the Kadapakkam village was filled with grief, Alamparaikottai Uttukottaiamman village lying across the river was starkly different with an unsettling silence. Known widely for the beautiful locale that has been a favourite for filmmakers, the coastal village lay abandoned on Saturday following the violent that left two dead.
There now are only charred motorbikes and boats, empty houses including few that were damaged in the backlash, and broken streetlights, and damaged electronic items were strewn on the roads. The aftermath of the violence between the two fishing hamlets lying on either side of the river left a few families stranded in the island.
The bridge which is their link to the outside was blocked by the police to ensure that they do not enter each other’s area. By the time the bridge was closed, most of the fishermen from here had managed to escape fearing backlash over the murders. “A few fishermen escaped on Friday leaving behind the women in the house. Most of them did not even have mobile phones, and were clueless about the family members. We still do not know if they managed to meet each other,” said Mariammal, a local from the hamlet.