Lying dormant for more than two decades, India’s only mud volcano at Baratang in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands came alive on October 2, confirmed officials from the island.
“We received information at around 1.30 pm on Thursday (October 2) about a violent eruption of a mud volcano at Jarwa Creek, Baratang. Such a big eruption was last reported in 2005. The eruption was followed by a deafening sound like an explosion. On receiving the information, local police officers, along with forest officials, visited the spot,” a senior police officer said.
Baratang is located in the North and Middle Andaman district, nearly 150 km from Port Blair.
While it’s a popular tourist spot – being India’s only mud volcano – safety measures for tourists and local people have been enforced and movement of people towards the volcano halted, said the official.
“As a result of the eruption, an earth mound of about 3-4 metres in height has formed, and the muddy soil has spread over an area of more than 1,000 square metres,” he further stated, adding that the eruption of mud and smoke has been continuous.
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A mud volcano, said the officer, is formed by gases deep inside the earth that act on decaying organic matter. It pushes the mud and gas to the surface, which creates bubbles and craters.
“It is one of the must-visit spots in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” he added.
The forest department has closed all approach routes to the volcano, and the geology department has been made aware of the eruption, the officer said.
A police team has also informed the Fiber Boat Owners’ Association so that local tourist vehicle owners are aware that there can be no movement towards the volcano site.
Recently, minor volcanic eruptions were also noticed at the famous Barren Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on September 13 and 20.
Nearly 140 km away from Port Blair by sea, this uninhabited island lies at the junction of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates.
The total area of Barren Island is 8.34 square kilometres, and the nearest habitation is Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island) and Narcondam Lookout Post (LoP), which is nearly 140-150 km respectively from the island.
According to data available with the Andaman and Nicobar administration’s archive, the first eruption at Barren Island took place in 1787, followed by mild eruptions in 1991, 2005, 2017, and the most recent one in November, 2022.
“The mud volcano at Baratang and active volcano in Barren Island are located at separate locations and both are not the same. The recent active volcanic eruption on September 13 and 20 was reported at Barren Island, but this one (mud volcano) was reported on October 2 from mud volcano in Baratang,” the official said.
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