Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (EP/SP)
J P Kini, Udupi
Udupi, Jul 16: Parkala and Herga on the outskirts of Udupi city limits have been witnessing strange occurences of late. It was here that during peak summer, when water bodies were drying up, stream of water suddenly started oozing out from inside the earth and filled wells and other bodies. Sometime later, the earth developed a huge crack that remains unexplained properly. Now, a huge pit that has opened up inside an agricultural field, stands added to the mysterious happenings here.
The underground water table which suddenly got enriched for no apparent reason during the summer at Kelaparkala had come as a surprise. A crack in the earth's surface at Manchikere a little distance away had given rise to a sense of fear among the people. Now, a huge pit which looks like a well in shape and size, has emerged suddenly in an agricultural field that was recently plowed.
The field in question, belonging to a local named Jayaram Tantri, had been plowed on Sunday, and the pit came to sight on Monday. Some people have expressed that this might either be an abandoned ancient well or a place where some tomb had been built thousands of years ago.
It is said that after the said field was plowed with the help of farm equipment on Sunday, an agricultural labourer working for Tantri visited the field on Monday to check water level. He was taken aback by the fact that the field had only a little amount of water, whereas he had expected it to be brimming with water. A thorough check revealed that water was being sucked into a pit that had been formed in the midst of the field. Thereafter, the flow of water into the pit was temporarily blocked by erecting a small wall around the pit with mud.
Geologist, Dr Uday Shankar thought that this crack would have been developed because of tremors inside the earth. He said that this crack most likely developed after the previous rainy season, duly noting that the shape and size of the pit does not exactly match with that of a well. As the area is located near River Swarna, he said that underground canals called in scientific terms as floodplains get naturally created for easing out flood water. He noted that these pits cannot be filled even by using enormous amounts of water. He reasoned that if it was a well, water should have filled to the brim because of the water that has flowed into it till now.
Dr B Jagadish Shetty, head of history department in Poornaprajna College here noted that tombs which resemble this pit had been found at places like Hebri, Nejar, Havanje and other places. He however said that a definite conclusion can be arrived at only after undertaking detailed study.
A local farmer said that he had witnessed such pits emerging out of some locals fields in the recent years, and explained that some such pits got filled with mud in course of time.
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