Mystery booms in Pune stump one and all

Mystery booms in Pune stump one and all
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

PUNE, MAY 21: Weekend in the city got off to a panicky start on Saturday when mystery booms had people scampering out of their homes, wondering whether these had anything to do with an explosion or a sonic boom or rumblings beneath the earth. But till late in the evening, no one had an answer to what exactly happened that set off booms which echoed from Bibwewadi to Warje to Ahmednagar road.

Some said it sounded like thunderclaps, others described a gurgling sound and still others maintained that it sounded as if bombs were going off. And almost all insisted that the booms caused tremors, rattled window-panes and makeshift structures. Most said they heard three quick booms but strangely enough, people reported having heard them at different times -- a period that stretched from 1 pm to 1.30 pm.

Police and Fire Brigade were flooded with calls, as were newspaper offices. Anxious people wanted to know what had caused the booms. But checks with seismologists, police and firemen drew a blank. All agreed they had received calls but, as a policemen put it, ``we have to know what we are looking for and in this case nobody has any idea.''

Seismologists said they had detected no underground activity. So an earthquake was out. The police said had there been an explosion, smoke would have been visible. But clearly, that wasn't the case. Reporters who dashed all over town in search of the source of the booms returned empty-handed.

According to the police control room, scores of calls were received from residents, claiming they had heard booms that sounded like explosions and that there had been tremors.

The calls came from areas that included Kondhwa, Gultekdi, Sahakarnagar, Bibvewadi, Navi Peth, Sadashiv Peth, Erandwane, Deccan Gymkhana and Shivajinagar.

All 19 police stations in the city were alerted and asked whether any untoward incident had taken place in the areas under their jurisdiction. But until late evening, there was no word of any trouble.

Sources from Pune Municipal Corporation's Central Fire Brigade also said that a large number of residents had reported the incident to the fire brigade. Fire brigade officials tried to verify the reports with officials from the observatory but no seismic activity was recorded.