A few videos of ‘meteor shower’ over Nagpur and other parts of Vidarbha made rounds on social media on Saturday evening. In Ladbori village in Sindewahi tehsil of Chandrapur district, people reported that a wide metal ring fell from the sky. It fuelled the theory that ‘satellite debris’, and not meteors, had fallen from the sky. Later on, the people handed over the ring to the local police. Geological Survey of India (GSI) officials said that they would be able to comment on the incident only after ascertaining details. Around 7.45 pm on Saturday, people in various parts of Nagpur city saw a fiery trail in the sky. It looked as if some pieces on fire were falling from sky. The people captured the descending bright objects illuminating the night sky, in their mobile phones. Soon, the videos went viral on social media.

 

The locations of the videos ranged from Mankapur to Wathoda to Rameshwari to Hingna Road. Some suspected the phenomenon to be ‘meteor shower’ while some believed it to be ‘satellite debris’ falling on earth in nearby areas. However, there was no confirmation regarding recovery or spotting of object that fell from the sky in Nagpur or nearby areas. Meanwhile, some more videos emerged which were reportedly shot in Jalgaon Jamod in Buldhana district, Gondpipri in Chandrapur district, Bhusawal, Jalgaon, and Wardha. Residents of Chikhli, Malkapur, Khamgaon, and Shegaon in Buldana district witnessed ‘a huge unidentified object’ falling from the sky on Saturday evening. Some called it ‘meteor shower’ while some believed it to be ‘satellite debris’ that descended towards Akola-Amravati. However, no one noticed the objects having fallen on ground anywhere in the area. With passage of time came an interesting development. Some photos emerged on social media, claiming that a big metal ring had fallen from the sky in a ground in Ladbori village in Sindewahi tehsil of Chandrapur district.

 

The photographs showed a crowd of people switching on torch function in their cellphones and inspecting the metal ring. Late in the night, it was reported that the villagers had handed over the ring to local police. There was curiosity and confusion all around regarding the ring. “Though GSI has got the said inputs in circulation on social media, we have not received any official report about the event,” said R H Chauhan, Director and Public Relations Officer, GSI, Central Region. When contacted by ‘The Hitavada’, he said that if GSI got some details, its team would visit the site and collect samples. “We will be able to offer any comment on the event only after getting the samples,” he added. Suresh Chopane, Member, Regional Empowered Committee of Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), believed that it was not a ‘meteorite shower’. “There is a high possibility that satellite debris fell from the sky on Saturday. Many citizens all over Maharashtra saw the bright objects in the sky. The object might have fallen in the Arabian Sea,” he said. Chopane, who is President of Sky Watch Group, said that metal ring at Ladbori village would have to be examined to ascertain what it was.

 

It may be recalled here that there was a meteor shower in Katol tehsil in Nagpur district in May 2012. The villagers had missed the illumination in the sky as it happened in noon. However, the accompanying thunder-like noises had caused rumours that there was an airplane crash, before the actual cause was discovered. Nevertheless, researchers from the GSI had visited the small village the next day and collected 30 meteorite fragments. The largest of these fragments weighed about 1 kg. (With inputs from Buldana and Chandrapur Correspondents)