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Sweet seawater 'miracle'
19/08/2006 19:03 - (SA)
New Delhi - Thousands of people flocked to a Mumbai beach on Saturday, after word spread that the seawater had turned sweet.
Many take this to be a miracle.
Television images showed people drinking seawater and even carrying it to their homes in bottles and containers off Mahim beach in Mumbai.
The state's top elected official, Vilasrao Deshmukh, however, has ordered the testing of the seawater and appealed to people to avoid drinking it as it could contain dangerous substances.
The state Pollution Control Board said it could be an upsurge of ground water.
"Due to heavy rainfall in the area, the ground water gets fully charged and may exert excess pressure. This can cause fine cracks in the rocky bottom through which ground water tends to come out," Press Trust of India news agency quoted Dilip Boralkar, a board member, as saying.
Boralkar also said that, because fresh water was lighter than seawater, it floated on the surface and could taste relatively sweeter.
"Normally, seawater is low in salinity during the monsoon because of the continuous rainfall in the area. This year we have had heavy rains in Mumbai and ground water being fully charged may be the cause," he said.
- AP
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South Africa
