Alappuzha: Who worries about LPG price hikes? In India, that is almost everyone. But, this woman from Kerala's Alappuzha is not bothered about the rise in price, thanks to her borewell. What's more, she hasn't even checked the LPG prices for nearly a decade. Who is she? How does she survive?
Rathnamma is a home-maker in Alappuzha and she has been using the gas she gets from a borewell near her house for a long time. The gas is free of cost, and she has been able to get it whenever she wants for the past nine years.
When there was significant water shortage, Rathnamma and her family decided to dig a borewell. The borewell operators dig up to 16 meters and yet, no water was found. That's when the miracle for Rathnamma happened.
When Someone lit up a matchbox to widen the PVC pipe mouth, a loud noise and flames started coming out of the borewell. Clueless as to why it was happening, they decided to continue the work after a couple of days. The family kept the incident to themselves, fearing unnecessary trouble.
They could never resume the work as the gas leakage continued for days that stretched into weeks. Eventually, Rathnamma informed her neighbors about this miracle and whenever someone lit up a matchbox near the borewell, they witnessed red color flames without any bad smell.
Officials from Geology and Petroleum departments visited the house and collected gas samples. After thorough inspection, they informed the households that it was methane gas and no need to be worried. The experts added that this could be a temporary phenomenon and may not last long. When Rathnamma realized that the gas could be used for domestic purposes, she called a local plumber and connected the gas stove and the borewell using a pipe. She has been using this gas for cooking for the last nine years.
Rathnamma admits that they were worried about a possible blast initially but there has been no untoward incidents so far. She says gas availability reduces only when the surrounding areas of the house is flooded.
Many research students have been visiting Rathnamma's house to study this strange phenomenon with much curiosity.
