It’s raining fish in Saurashtra again,this time at Junagadh village

But one possible reason could be that the fishes have been dropped by pelicans during their migration,they said.

“Fish rain is not possible at all,” said Assistant Commissioner Fisheries H B Dave,adding that the pelicans might have dropped the fish. “When water bodies dry up in winter,pelicans migrate,” he said,ruling out the possibility that fish can get sucked in clouds and then fall as rain.

He,nevertheless,added: “In my more than two decades of service,I have never come across such an incident.”

Unlike Navagam in Bhanwad,Bantiya villagers claimed to have seen about half a kilometre long and as much wide fish-laden clouds about 15 feet above the ground. Some of the fish also fell in farmlands in the area.

Jentibhai Makati,who field experienced this ‘fish rain’ said: “We saw them fall from the sky.” Several people in the area claim to have been eyewitness to this phenomena.

Kantilal Tilwa (45),who owns a farmland,said the ‘fish cloud’ was seen for quite some time before it disappeared from the sky.

But there has been no official confirmation of the incident yet. Officials from the Vanthali Mamlatdar office said they have no information about the ‘fish rain’.

Elsewhere,the Bhanwad taluka mamlatdar office has confirmed the incident reported last Sunday. In Nawagam,along with roads and markets,fish were also found from terraces of several buildings.

R J Asari,a Forest Department officer who has served in the interiors of Saurashtra and south Gujarat also denied ever witnessing such an incident. Top officials of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) maintained that the department has no information about the two incidents.

(With inputs from Sibte Husain Bukhari)