Overview
- The 18-foot agricultural well on Pranjivan Sadariya’s farm in Virparda village began showing continuous wave-like oscillations and occasional overflow after heavy rains, first noticed on Sunday.
- The movement has been intermittent over five days, with the water sometimes calming and then resuming, and videos of the rippling well have gone viral and drawn large crowds to the roadside site.
- District geologists and the Institute of Seismological Research have found no recorded tremors or active fault in the area and have formally ruled out seismic activity as the cause.
- Investigators’ preliminary working explanation is rapid groundwater recharge after monsoon rains forcing trapped air through rock pores or fractures, which can create bubbling, turbulence or a ‘well seiche’ that drives surface ripples.
- The Gujarat government has been notified and specialist groundwater and seismology teams from Gandhinagar will examine local geology, instrument records and hydrology before issuing a final report, while authorities urge people not to spread rumours or crowd the site.