Latur residents complain of 'mysterious' underground sound; nothing amiss found, say officials

Latur, Dec 19 (PTI) Residents of several areas in Latur in Maharashtra on Thursday alerted authorities to a "mysterious" sound emanating from underground though there is no report of any seismic activity in the region, officials said.

As per residents, the sound was being heard in areas near Killari, including Nandurga, Gubal and Ganjankhed in Ausa tehsil, and several of them rushed outdoors in fear, the officials added.

Mandal officials and talathis have inspected these areas but could not find anything amiss, Ausa in charge tehsildar Mustafa Khonde said.

District Disaster Management official Sakeb Usmani said, "The sound seems to be coming from underground. However, there is no report with us of any damage to property." Some people said cracks developed in two rooms of Nandurga Zilla Parishad central primary school, after which a team under sarpanch Ashwini Ghadge and School Committee chairperson Parameshwar Shrikhande visited the area, officials informed.

Children have been moved to the school's ground as a precautionary measure, they added.

A Latur Seismology Centre official said no seismic activity has been reported from the area.

Incidentally, Latur was the epicentre of a devastating earthquake in 1993 that killed around 10,000 persons. PTI COR BNM