Indonesia’s Toba volcano ash mounds found in Medak

Ash mounds, believed to be from the ancient Toba Volcano in Indonesia, were discovered along Haridra stream, a tributary of river Manjeera.

Medak: Ash mounds, believed to be from the ancient Toba Volcano in Indonesia, were discovered along Haridra stream, a tributary of river Manjeera, at Hastalapur village in Narsapur here, by BV Bhadragirish, a historian of the Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam (KTCB).

The Toba volcano eruption is said to have happened some 75,000 years ago at Toba Lake in Sumatra Islands in Indonesia. Historians say the ash spread over thousands of kilometres and has traveled to different parts of the globe along with the water current and piled up as mounds.

During a visit to a historical site near Hastalapur, KTCB member BV Bhadragirish noticed the volcanic ash mounds near the village, After examining the ash scientifically, Deputy Director General (Retired) of the Geological Survey of India Chakilam Venugopal Rao confirmed it was from the Toba volcano eruption. Initially, the KTCB team thought the ash heaps found at Hastalapur were of iron furnaces, but the scientific examination proved them wrong.

Rao said the ash had no carbon at all, but had five mg of sulphur in every kilo of ash. The veteran geologist said the ash particles had sharp edges, which was a strong indicator of volcanic ash. Rao said earlier such ash mounds were identified near Murreru in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, in Manjeera river valley, and also in Banaganepally in Andhra Pradesh.

Historians had identified such ash mounds in different parts of Telangana which they presumed to be ash of cow or buffalo dung. However, KTCB member Bhadragirish said it was time to reexamine the samples of all these ash mounds by involving expert geologists.

Hastalapur village already has a pre-historic rock painting site on Pandavulagutta. Historians have also found several pieces of evidence of the pre-historic period here. Bhadragirish made a visit to see the pre-historic rock paintings at the village recently when he was told about the ash mounds located one kilometre away in the South-east direction from Narasimha Swamy hillock.

The locals were calling them Sudda guttalu which the villagers used as chalk. Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, Bhadragirish said it was indeed an honour to visit and identify such location, and credited the locals who guided them to the location.