BENGALURU: Open the lid of the sump and a blast of steam hits you. Inside, the water is boiling and nobody knows why or how. This mysterious phenomenon, which has been occurring over the last four days, has puzzled not just the house owners, but also the gram panchayat members as well as geologists.
Suresh P, the owner of a 600 sqft house in Margondanahalli village under Bidarahalli Gram Panchayat limits, towards Bengaluru East, is looking to rent it out, but due to the pandemic, he has not found any tenants so far. The family had visited the house four days ago to clean it up, hoping to get new tenants. That was when Suresh noticed the boiling water in the underground sump.
“While cleaning the floor tiles in the front yard, I saw steam emanating from the sides of the sump lid. When I opened, I was almost thrown back by a gush of steam. The water in the sump was boiling hot,” Suresh explained.Even walking barefoot on the house floor was unbearable due to heat. Shocked by what he had witnessed, he informed the local panchayat members.
A team inspected the place and speculated that it could be because of electrical issues. They called the power utility technicians, who immediately disconnected power supply to the water pump.But nothing much changed, and the water in the sump continued to boil.
Geologists to investigate boiling water mystery
The panchayat members then suggested draining out the hot water and refilling the sump with fresh water and observe it for another day. On Thursday, the family called in an empty tanker to drain out 3,000 litres of the boiling water and another tanker to fill the sump with 5,000 litres of water. But, by Friday afternoon, the water was boiling again. The case has now caught the attention of geologists, and a team is scheduled to visit the place soon.
R Babu, a senior geologist (ground water) with the Mines and Geology Department, said, “This is a very strange and a unique case. In my tenure, I have come across only two such cases and it was found that it was because of seismic waves. There was a major earthquake in 1993 in Latur, Maharashtra. In 2000, I had found naturally heated water coming from three of five borewells in Jalahalli. A few days later, hot water bubbles were seen in lake water in Tavarekere village.
“Analysis showed that because of the 1993 earthquake, seismic waves were released here, leading to natural heating. This case in Margondanahalli could also be the same. There must have been an earthquake somewhere or changes in the Earth’s layers, which could be leading to release of seismic waves here. There could be some cracks in the sump, from where seismic heat is being released, heating up the water. It needs to be studied,” Babu explained.