Nine wells sink in Kollam district

By Our Staff Reporter

KOLLAM, OCT. 16. After a brief lull, the phenomenon of caving-in of wells has rocked the district again. Incessant rain during the past three days saw at least nine wells sinking in various parts of the district. Most of the wells went down on Monday night soon after the rain subsided.

With no substantiative explanation so far, the development has resulted in panic in the area. During June, more than a dozen wells got sucked down in various parts of the district. As in June, the wells which disappeared on Monday too went down with a roar, leaving only a gaping cavity and some of them even left no trace of any masonry to indicate that a well had stood there. Most of the wells were quite deep, having at least 20 rings. A peep into the cavity reveals that the wells got sucked down with most of the rings going further below the original depth of the well.

While the wells sank one by one at intervals spread over three weeks in the earlier phase, this time around, all the nine wells went down within a span of eight hours.

The owners of these wells said they had not noticed anything unusual about the wells even on Monday and some of them had even drawn water from these wells at night. Most of the wells that sank in June had given their owners some kind of prior warning in the form of a strange gurgle for over a week. Though the other wells in the neighbourhood are seen intact, people are scared to go near them.

Monday's incidents were reported from West Kallada, Nallila, Thevalakara and Thazhava. Two wells at Ramankulangara and Kallumthazham in the city also disappeared. Two wells disappeared in this manner at Karunagapally and Thevally the previous day.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Rubber dealers continue strike
Next     : New guidelines for tribal schemes