Govt denies digging undertaken by ASI in UP’s Unnao district
12 Dec 2013 11:53 PM GMT
The government on Wednesday denied the digging undertaken by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Daundia Kheda village in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh recently, that cost the public exchequer close to two lakh, eighty thousand rupees, proved to be an exercise in futility.
Minister for culture, Chandresh Kumari Katoch informed the Rajya Sabha the articles excavated from the temple site located inside the 18th century fort site include a fragment of stone lion figure, glass bangles, terracotta beads and animal bones besides black and red ware. These excavations pushed back the history of the site by nearly 2,000 years or more.
Admitting, however, that the approval of the Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA) was not obtained for conducting the trial excavations at Daundia Kheda village, the Minister said the proposal was approved by the Director General, ASI since the deadline for submission of excavation proposals had already passed on 31st July.
The nearly month-long digging at Daundia Kheda during October-November had aroused global media curiosity over the gold treasure hunt. Media reports had suggested the excavations were undertaken after a local seer Shobhan Sarkar had predicted a huge gold treasure beneath.
Minister for culture, Chandresh Kumari Katoch informed the Rajya Sabha the articles excavated from the temple site located inside the 18th century fort site include a fragment of stone lion figure, glass bangles, terracotta beads and animal bones besides black and red ware. These excavations pushed back the history of the site by nearly 2,000 years or more.
Admitting, however, that the approval of the Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA) was not obtained for conducting the trial excavations at Daundia Kheda village, the Minister said the proposal was approved by the Director General, ASI since the deadline for submission of excavation proposals had already passed on 31st July.
The nearly month-long digging at Daundia Kheda during October-November had aroused global media curiosity over the gold treasure hunt. Media reports had suggested the excavations were undertaken after a local seer Shobhan Sarkar had predicted a huge gold treasure beneath.
Next Story
