The unexplained appearance of water in long dried-up wells and arid wastelands in far-flung pockets of Andhra Pradesh has created a flutter, coming close as it does on the heels of the tsunami disaster. The strange phenomenon, along with a sudden rise in ground water levels at some places in Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy, Mahbubnagar and Adilabad districts, has generated at the same time fear, happiness and speculation among locals.In drought-prone areas, where entire villages have been abandoned for lack of water, it has brought hope, but not without cynicism, as the farmers have seen enough crops die in the fields to be cheered by the sight of water in a few isolated places. While some village elders have advised pujas, seeing the phenomenon as a bad omen, others like Pentappa of Mukundapur village have worshipped the water holes in their fields with incense, vermilion and coconuts .