Monday, January 10 2005 13:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Port Blair: What thousands of convicts always dreamt of doing but could not fathom how, the severe earthquake on December 26 wrought in just a few seconds.

The tremor on the 'Boxing Day', that triggered the killer waves, also crumbled to pieces the century-old thick boundary wall of national memorial 'The Cellular Jail' at Port Blair in tsunami-ravaged Andaman and Nicobar islands.

About 20-metre stretch of a 15-inch thick stonewall, that once skirted the left wing of the jail, lies in rubble today (Jan 10, 2005) as a witness to the intensity of one of the worst devastations in recent times.

While the jail, built in 1906, has sustained crack everywhere - the cells, the gallows, the exhibition galleries and the central tower, this portion of the strong wall is completely gone. The sturdy wall was the stumbling block for any escape plan of the convicts.

The jail, a mute witness to the torture meted out to the freedom fighters put in Port Blair in solitary confinement during the days of colonial rule, and considered a place of pilgrimage for patriots wears a deserted look even on a Sunday.