'Green rain' alarms Indian villagers
CALCUTTA, India (Reuters) -- Authorities in east India say that 'green rain' seen by panicky villagers was actually bee feces with traces of honey and not some toxic chemical.
Police said people in Sangrampur village, 38 miles north of Calcutta, had seen two spells of what appeared to be green rain -- first on Friday and again on Sunday -- sparking a media frenzy of speculation that the 'rain' could be dangerous.
"On studying the samples of condensed droplets we found they were feces of bees containing traces of honey excreted from a large swarm of bees flying overhead," D. Chakraborty, chief scientist of the state's pollution control board, told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.
He said the droplets contained pollen which gave them a greenish-yellow color. The incident happened as the annual monsoon rains arrived in the region late last week.
The Sangrampur area is known for it honey, officials say.
― mike hanle y, Saturday, 15 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)