Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB/SP)

Udupi, Feb 5: Three successive explosions went off from a deserted thicket in Alevoor-Karvalu Road with a gap of around 20 minutes on Tuesday February 3. The explosions were so strong that many said they felt it was an earthquake, while several others thought of bomb attacks, while a few said were reminded of the cracks that had appeared in the earth in some villages like Manchikere sometime back in the district.

The sound and powerful vibrations reportedly created cracks in the walls of a couple of houses, while the window glasses of a government office were shattered. The sound of these explosions were heard by people living within about 10 km circumference of the blast site.

Inquiries made later revealed that these three blasts were set off as part of the training being provided to district armed police force's bomb detection and disposal squad. The spot where the explosions had been set off is located opposite the dumping yard in Alevoor where movement of people and vehicles happen to be scarce.

The police said they have been conducting such blasts with a gap of about two months between two training sessions since the last two years, and that they had barred entry of vehicles to roads leading to the spot. They however agreed that the intensity of explosions was on the higher side this time as compared to earlier blasts, adding that explosives containing ammonia were detonated for refreshing the training provided to an eight member squad of the district.

Reportedly, the wall of Laxmi's house in Netaji Nagar developed a crack due to these explosions. Some said their utensils fell to the ground as in the case of earthquakes. Similar complaints were also received from some others. One of them named Saroja said her television set stopped working since the said explosion was heard. The window glasses of the office of Kannada and culture department at Karanth Kalagrama in Pragatinagar were shattered. Some felt that the explosions occurred very near to the areas inhabited by people, and suggested to shift the spot to a distant place.

On Wednesday February 4, SP Annamalai visited the area and promised that no blasting operation would be conducted henceforth.

Annamalai said, "We have informed the locals before and it was a controlled blast. In some cass the affected building was worn out and construction was very weak. Also, the residential areas are 5 km away from the training area. Nevertheless, it will not happen again as we will shift the training to remote areas."