Fire Bore Well

Rathnamma didn’t get the borewell she wanted, but fate rewarded her in other ways. After digging up to 75 feet at her house in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, there was no potable water, but a steady flame smouldered when a match was lit near the well’s mouth. The workers connected it to the LPG stove and it worked! The Geological Survey of India confirmed it was methane, but said it would run out in weeks as no significant gas dep­osits could be identified there. Ten years later, Rathna­mma is still happily harvesting this endless fount.