DEOLALI CANTONMENT ON THE THRESHOLD OF A SPECTACULAR WATER FIND

by Nandini Singh

Eureka ! Diviner unearths liquid assets !

DEOLALI CAMP : This well-run Raj-era town, surrounded by the picturesque Sahyadri Range, home of the Gunners since 1941, just 200 Km north-east of Bombay and 16 Km to the south-east of Nashik, is the lucky recipient of two record-breaking bore-wells, which were recently test-drilled to a depth of 195 feet each. The first bore, where water was initially struck at a depth of 101 feet, was drilled at the new Temple Hill Waterfall Cantonment Public Garden on Dhondy Road, with a very high yield (currently) of 4.2 inches as per the V-Notch Test scale. The second bore, where water was initially struck at a depth of 111 feet, was drilled at the adjoining old Temple Hill Cantonment Public Park also on Dhondy Road, with an astonishing yield (currently) of 7.3 inches - approximately 73,731.96 l.p.h. ! These two test-bores were commissioned as a result of the earnest efforts of the Deolali Cantonment Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. A. Sekhar Babu, of the esteemed I.D.E.S. (Indian Defence Estates Service).

The remarkable part of this venture is that both these tube-wells were drilled at the peak of summer, during a severe drought, in this clean, Second World War British Army Rest-Camp, originally established around 1861, and well-known for its dry healthy climate and water scarcity ! (Over 20,000 villages in Maharashtra are reportedly reeling under severe drought conditions. Out of 1,951 villages in Nashik District, 1,523 villages are scarcity-hit..) Deolali Cantonment came into existence in 1869. The forts in this region were captured in the year 1818 by Colonel MacDowell's Army and the region came under British rule. Deolali Camp was opened as a Main Depot for the arrival and departure of troops in 1870. During the Second World War it also housed the Japanese and Italian POW camps. A Homeward Bound Trooping Depot (HBTD) was also situated at Deolali for the British troops. It is of interest to note that at the OG (Old Garrison) Lines, Building No.64 was built in 1867 for the Mineral Water Factory ! The drilling-points for the two tube-wells were dowsed and located by leading Water Diviner, and local resident, Mr. Michael J. Davis of Grand Hotel, 49 Dhondy Road - who is quite literally making waves ! Michael Davis (whose mentor was the late Master-Dowser Mr. W. F. X. "Xavier" Norohna of Bandra), better known in drilling-circles by the sobriquet 'Waterman', had recommended that both his Pendulum-surveyed Points should be drilled to a depth of 300 feet. Both test-bores were drilled with a low-pressure, 6 inch, air-rotary, hydraulic, Drilling-Rig provided by Mr. Sandeep Bhattad of Tirupati Borewells, Nashik. Michael Davis, who is an all-weather Dowser, is also skilled at 'Astral Triangulation Projection' which he uses in Map-Dowsing (Remote Dowsing or Long-distance Dowsing) - the highest art form of the dowsing world. He dowses on a variety of subjects including natural gem-stones, crude-oil, minerals, location of missing persons or objects, alternative therapies, and has on several occasions rendered assistance to investigative agencies and other forces. However, he specialises in groundwater, and is a dowsing consultant on the suitability and selection of planetary and semi-precious natural-gems, as well as 'pendulum-predictions' on a variety of subjects ranging from matrimonial proposals, and purchase of a house, to selection of career options. A significant number of his bookings come from disappointed people across the country who had opted for the neoteric method - Resistivity Meters, to locate drilling-points, and have drilled with very little or no success. He has of late been receiving an increasing number of requests for Groundwater Surveys for Primary Water from bottled-water manufacturers. One reason for this could be the excellent drinking quality and purity of Primary Water. The Rs.700 crore branded bottled-water business in India is growing at the rate of 70 per cent a year. The Railways alone have over 1250 brands. The unbranded bottled-water market is estimated at about Rs.400 crore. "Bisleri" and "Bailey" of Parle Bisleri are the market leaders, but there are a number of MNC's trying to make a big splash. Nestle's "Pure Life" bottled at Samalklha in Harayana reportedly conducts over 100 microbiological and chemical tests every day to ensure the purity and consistency of water. The manufacturers of "HIMALAYAN" Natural Mineral Water, which is said to rival Evian natural spring water, from the French Alps, marketed by Danone, bagged initial orders from the USA worth US $ 2 Million !

Passersby thronged the drilling sites, located close to Deolali's renowned St. Patrick's Convent School, till late at night, gazing in amazement at the sheer enormity of the erupting gushers, which can be seen from the accompanying photographs. Cantonment Board Member of Ward No.7, and former Vice-President of the Cantonment Board, Deolali, Mr. Baburao N. Mojad, who was present during the test-drilling operations, gratefully congratulated Mr. Michael Davis (who personally conducted the drilling), on the unparalleled achievement of the pilot-programme.

The daily water requirement of Deolali Cantonment is 6 MLD (Million Litres per Day). It is estimated that at their current shallow test-depth, these two tube-wells alone, can supply about two and a half million litres (2.5 MLD) of drinking-quality water per day, all through the year. The over-head public water tank located at the top of the Khanderao Mandir (built by the Peshwas) Tekdi which supplies the prestigious Dhondy Road area and Shigwa-Bahula Village in Ward No.7, has a capacity of about 1,75,000 litres. It is pertinent to note that only the minor streams have been tapped so far, and that at both Points, the un-tapped main vein is flowing well below 250 feet. According to the Water Diviner, the water at both these points is Geo-Thermal Water, commonly called Primary Water. If both these tube-wells are drilled further to a depth of 300 feet, it is possible that the combined potential yield could be in the vicinity of 5 MLD or more.

Primary Water veins are perennial, subterranean, streams that flow out from 'water-domes' under pressure. Unlike hydrologic-cycle water, this is water that has never ever seen the light of day, and is formed and rises up from thousands of feet below the surface of the earth. It is not part of the hydrologic-cycle, nor is it part of the water-table. As the veins flowing with Primary water are not dependent on rainfall, and are not part of the groundwater-table, they neither reduce drastically nor dry-up during summer, or even a prolonged drought. The Primary Water theory was first discovered, advocated and put into practice by world-renowned twentieth century dowsers like the late Henry Gross, Stephen Riess, and Verne Cameron of the United States. They achieved spectacular successes in Bermuda, the Middle-East and the United States. Henry Gross map-dowsed from his home in Maine the general locations of 4 good drilling-points in Bermuda. When drilled in 1950 these were able to produce 2 million gallons of fresh water per day for public consumption, i.e., each well on average having a yield of 78,854 litres per hour ! By 1958 Stephen Riess' work was noticed by the Israeli government and they invited him to find water for their new city of Eliat on the Red Sea's Gulf of Aquaba. On May 29, 1959, The Jerusalem Post announced that the Riess-located well was sufficient enough to supply a city of more than 100,000 people including industry and outlying villages ! Verne Cameron, the great Californian water diviner fought a twenty-year battle to provide water from the empty Lake Elsinore, which had dried up for good in 1951. On December 15, 1965 a Verne Cameron located well was brought in at approximately 5000 gallons-per-minute (11,35,500 litres per hour) ! "From Rags to Riches in less than a Year describes the Status of Lake Elsinore" exulted the Riverside County DAILY ENTERPRISE, California newspaper, on December 16, 1965.

Primary Water can be found all over the world, including the desert areas, and even below the sea-bed. The key to tapping this buried-treasure is to have a Water Diviner with the ability and expertise to accurately locate drilling-points, with precision, above true Primary Water veins, by Dowsing, as has been demonstrated so convincingly at Deolali. Dowsing is an ancient advanced science that is gradually being rediscovered. It is interesting to note that till as recently as the 1940's, there was a Major C. A. Pogson, M.C., who was the Official Dowser to the Bombay Government, and a Major W. N. Pogson was the Official Water Diviner to the Government of India. George de la Warr successfully located Methane Gas for the Government of India by Map-Dowsing from his home in Oxford, England. Other famous dowsers who have operated in or for India include the Revd. Lea-Wilson, Col. Hennessy, Dr. Treadwell of Hoffman-La Roche, Lt. Col. Fenwick and 'Xavier' Norohna. The Armed Forces, in particular, have made use of dowsers throughout history. In fact it is being increasingly predicted that the next World War will be fought over water. The Australian Expeditionary Forces used dowsers to find water at Gallipoli during World War I. General Patton, himself a dowser, used a water diviner, Captain Ralph Harris, to locate water for 600,000 men in Morocco, during World War II, as the Germans had destroyed the existing wells. Harris located a vein of water just 400 feet below the surface, 300 feet wide, that yielded 2,000 gallons of water per minute. Louis Matacia, another famous dowser, taught the U.S. Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment how to dowse for land-mines, and detect enemy tunnels during the Vietnam War. The Russian Army reportedly also uses dowsers and conducts classes on the subject for upto 200 Officers at a time. Many Special Forces rely heavily on dowsing to deal with a variety of combat situations. The Royal School of Military Engineering in Chatham, England, has the world's largest collection of material on dowsing. Throughout history there have been many eminent men and women who were successful dowsers. Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Boyle, Sir Isaac Newton, Lloyd George, Thomas A. Edison and Dr. Albert Einstein are just a few. The Academie des Sciences in France has declared in respect of dowsing, that "it is impossible to deny the existence of the power, although its nature cannot as yet be determined." This method, if revived and encouraged, can confer immense lasting benefits on our drought-prone States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, at a fraction of the cost that is being spent annually on tanker supplies, water-trains and other, inadequate, stop-gap, drought-relief measures. According to Rajendra Singh of the Tarun Bharat Sangh, in Rajasthan alone the government has spent over Rs.19,000 crore on drought relief since Independence. Another fortuitous advantage is the time factor. Even a deep bore-well can be drilled and made operational in less than 24 hours, and in emergency and crisis situations can help avert deaths due to the burgeoning water-famine. The range and speed of the response, where the water is urgently and actually required, is crucial in such cases.

Distinguished local industrialist and benefactor Maharaj Birmani, of Sivanada Electronics, Deolali, has sponsored the drilling of the first tube-well to a depth of 195 feet, and the purchase of a homunculus pump so that at least a little of the water can be utilised without delay, in the interim. The Cantonment authorities are awaiting donors to sponsor the further drilling of both tube-wells to a depth of 300 feet, and the purchase of an adequate 7.5 horse-power Submersible Pump with sufficient stages, initially, for the second tube-well, which can facilitate the optimum utilization of the water from this second well, for the public benefit. Such a Pump will have the capacity to pump this water directly into the over-head water tank on Temple Hill, for distribution through gravity-feed.

Given the importance of water-issues, in the face of the grave drought conditions prevailing in the country, Deolali Cantonment and its CEO Mr. A. Sekhar Babu are without a doubt trailblazers, and one of the lessons to be learned from this pioneering experience, is that there are cost-effective, permanent soloutions available, which can be implemented within a telescoped time-frame, to effectively tackle the water famine across the country. What is required is vision and courage, to take calculated risks, and informed decision-making. The result of the Deolali Cantonment pilot-programme justifies the inclusion of Water Divining through Dowsing, in the Action Plan (2000-03) of the Central Ground Water Board, under the Ministry of Water Resources, even at this point in time.

LIQUID ASSETS: The drilling of the first test-bore, in the new Temple Hill Waterfall Garden at Dhondy Road, Deolali Cantonment, with a yield of 4.2 inches.

MAKING WAVES: The drilling of the second test-bore, in the old Temple Hill Park at Dhondy Road, Deolali Cantonment, with a yield of 7.3 inches !

(2,159 words).

A Copy of the Article by Ms. Nandini Singh, reproduced above, was widely published in several reputed publications and dowsing journals, including the prestigious:

 

THE BRITISH SOCIETY
OF DOWSERS'
"DOWSING Today" - The Society's Journal
March 2002 - Volume No. 39. No. 275.
http://www.britishdowsers.org

President's Message. Beulah Garcin.
Speaking of Dowsing. Nigel Percy.
Stonehenge: The Temple of the Hyperboreans - Part 4. John Harvey.
Visits of the Kami to the Izumo Shrine, Japan. Tom Bender.
Modern Achievements of Dowsing - Part 1. Alexander P Dubrov.
Crop Circle Dowsing, August 2001. Lesley Hextall.
Dowsing and the Cosmic Information Maxtrix. Peter Stewart.
Human Behaviour and the Environment. Vasco Ramelhete.
Deolali Cantonment on the Threshold of a Spectacular Water Find. Nandini Singh.

"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why." "The truly valuable thing is the intuition." - Albert Einstein -