Post News Network
Bhanjanagar/Raikia, Sept 20: A series of craters that were formed in Dhepaguda village under Raikia block on the Kandhamal-Ganjam border after some seismic vibrations were recorded on the nights of September 15 and 16 has prompted a high-level team to undertake an inspection visit to the area Sunday.
The team comprising geologists and mines officials apart from officials of the district administration visited the site and collected soil, stones and rocks for examination. Preliminary inquiries revealed there is an imminent threat to Dhepaguda village if more rainfall occurs.
The team, however, did not shed light on the cause behind the formation of such craters. Director Khitish Pattnaik of the geology department accompanying the team said the actual cause will be revealed after discussions with the district administration. Villagers meanwhile expressed resentment at the team visiting the site five days after the incident took place.
Ever since the incident took place, villagers have been residing on the school premises and are scared to return to the village fearing a recurrence of the seismic activity. People of neighbouring villages are similarly living in fear. Dhepaguda villagers are demanding that the district administration relocate them in some other place. Surprisingly, no government officials or experts have visited the village till Sunday except the BDO, who accompanied the team for the first time Sunday.
According to reports, the villagers woke up from their sleep to an unusual sound Tuesday night and noticed a small fissure on the ground with water seeping out.
The next morning, the fissure grew larger and developed into a crater. Scared villagers then spent the whole day in the open, afraid to go into their houses.
Soon, more than a hundred fissures appeared by evening. Villagers further panicked after a concrete road developed cracks and sunk by about four inches Wednesday evening. Most of the villagers then left their houses and took shelter in the village school.
Meanwhile, rumours abound that a village priest had alerted the villagers about the incident a week ago.
The priest had reportedly had portents in his dreams and asked the villagers to vacate the area otherwise the entire area would be reduced to dust. “My prophecy has come true,” the priest claimed.
However, villagers rubbished the priest’s claims. Pattnaik claimed to have collected stones and rocks from the nearby hill and said the condition of the check dam in the area was also reviewed.