Imphal: A collection of bombs believed to be from the Second World War was recovered from a cave at Kounu hill, Chirang village in Imphal West district, about 15 to 20 km towards the west of Imphal on April 2, according to a delayed report.
The volunteers of Kounu Lairembi Thougal Lup, Chirang found the bombs while they were cleaning up the surrounding areas of the Kounu temple on Monday.
The bombs were found in a cave near the Kounu temple under a pile of stones.
Altogether, there were 39 bombs of varying sizes resembling motar shells in shape, one knife and a long pipe. Some weighed 3.6 kg and some 1.5 kg.
One of the bombs was lebelled M20A1 ROP 1942 LOT 3 69 65 229 and another was labelled M20A1 ROP 1942 LOT 22 while the labels in the other bombs could not be read as they had rusted a lot, it is reported.
The Kounu Lairembi Thougal Lup has decided to hand over the material believed to be from the 2nd World War recovered from a cave in the Kounu hill to the Archaeology department of the state.
Narrating the circumstances under which the bombs were recovered, vice president of the Lup, W. Jiten Meitei said that every year the volunteers of the Lup used to clean up the surroundings of the Kounu Lairembi temple.
This year, as they were cleaning up the surroundings of the temple, they came across a cave near the temple, which they cleaned up and there found the bombs, said Jiten. He also added that there was a story told by a village elder about a plane that had crashed on the Kounu hill during the 2nd World War. But this story which is believed to be untrue and is now being considered to be just a myth by most of the villagers in Chirang. It has also been reported that the tribal people settled on the Kounu hill had recovered some parts resembling the body of a plane of the olden days. (NNN)
