More smoke emitting craters formed in Manipur’s Ukhrul distt

Imphal, July 5: Ukhrul district administration has barred villagers from entering Shitru area, where a smoke and ash emitting crater, discovered a few months back, has been expanding with more holes appearing around it.
Villagers of Old and New Wahong villages under Jessami sub-division of Ukhrul district of Manipur had first sighted the smoke emitting crater at Shitru in April this year. Initially, it was thought that the smoke and ash were emitted from the burning pine roots in the forest.
However, fear gripped them, when a youth, Wisdom Vashum, accidentally tripped in the crater-like hole and suffered burns in the leg. The incident led villagers to believe that something unnatural was happening in the area.
A team of Manipur University’s Earth Sciences Department led by Dr S Manichandra will go to the site on Sunday(July 5) with equipments to conduct study on the phenomenon.
On Friday, a team of media persons from Imphal visited the site and witnessed smoke emitting from the crater.Villagers were fearful that the unceasing smoke and ash could blanket the swampy Shitru area.
One villager told this Correspondent, that they witnessed five different colours of extremely hot soil emitting out of the crater. Bubbles of unknown particles were also seen bubbling like hot water inside the hole. Smoke and ash emitted from the crater were caused due to burning of leaves at high temperature.
Due to the intense heat radiated from the crater, many small trees and shrubs were drying up and the odour smelt like burning tyre felt around a ten-meter radius from the crater.
Shitru is located very close to Old Wahong village between the mountain range boundary of Myanmar and Nagaland. The village is 130 km on the north of Ukhrul district headquarters and around 10 km from Indo-Myanmar border pillar number 130.
Manipur-Nagaland border is located at a distance of around 3 km from Shitru. One has to trek around a half km from Old Wahong village to reach the site.
Villagers who had visited Shitru said that three holes, with radius of around one foot each were clearly visible and the surrounding area at the circumference of around 60 feet had sunk due to continuous emission of ashes. Even water at the nearby pond had a peculiar sour taste.
Villagers had first noticed smoke billowing out from the swampy area in 2007 and again in 2012 but there was no hole that emitted smoke and ash.
However, after a gap of three years, continuous emission of smoke and ash caused villagers to fear an impending disaster. According to scientific experts, continuous outpouring of ashes and smoke indicates a high possibility of sudden volcanic eruption or lava ejection.
Following the reports, Ukhrul DC Modak Hrisheekesh Arvind has sounded an alert and appealed the villagers not to enter the area till after the SDO Jessami inspected the area in a couple of days.
The DC Ukhrul has reported the matter to the higher authorities for necessary intervention and investigation in response to the pleas made by the villagers. (Courtesy NP)