A scientific payload attached to a balloon landed at Jalasanghi village in Humnabad taluk of Bidar district on Saturday, causing panic among villagers who mistook it for satellite debris.
The balloon got stuck in a tree and the satellite payload crashed in the middle of the town’s narrow streets. The red light attached to the payload was working after it fell to the ground.
Neighbors immediately alerted the police, who came to the scene and cordoned off the area. While examining the payload, the police found that the satellite’s payload balloon was launched by the Tata Institute of Basic Research (TIFR) in Hyderabad, Telangana, as part of a meteorological study.
The police alerted the TIFR authorities, who will soon visit the village to recover the satellite payload.
Meanwhile, Bidar Deputy Commissioner Shilpa Sharma issued a press note asking people not to panic if they find huge balloons in the sky as they are launched by the Tata Institute of Basic Research in Hyderabad for research purposes.
He said 10 balloon flights with scientific payload have been launched from Hyderabad. They are likely to slowly descend and make landfall within a radius of 200 to 350 km from Hyderabad, depending on the wind direction.
He asked people not to panic upon encountering such balloons and to immediately inform the local police or the administration.
Published – January 19, 2025 08:39 pm IST
