Kendrapara, Nov 08: Two more fragments of the meteorite that crashed over coastal Orissa on September 27 last were handed over to the district authorities by the local people today. Official sources said the objects weighing 500 gm and 350 gm respectively were kept in the District Collectorate here awaiting government instructions in the matter.
The district administration had threatened to initiate legal action against anyone possessing fragments of the meteorite which was national property.
Umakanta Nayak, a resident of Belasari village under Aul block of Kendrapara district, handed over the piece of meteorite weighing 500 gm to the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). Nayak claimed to have retrieved the object from a paddy field near his village on September 28.
Similarly, a local correspondent of a private tv channel who had stumbled upon the second meteorite piece weighing about 350 gm at Suniti village on Septmber 28 handed it over to the district administration today.
Two pieces of meteorite weighing 5.7 kg and 500 gm had been retrieved from Purba Suniti and Paschima Suniti villages under Mahakalpara block and Sanamarichapalli village under Pattamundai block of Kendrapara district.
These were handed over to the Geological Survey of India (GSI) on the instruction of the state government on October 20 for further scientific research. The meteor streaked across the night sky in coastal Orissa districts on September 27 causing panic in some areas.
Bureau Report