Lucknow, Oct 19 (Hindustan Times) : The 12-member team from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and Geological Survey of India, digging for '1000-tonne gold’, on Saturday reached 15-cm closer to the 'treasure’ buried at a 19th century fort in an Uttar Pradesh village.
The team comprising of archeologists, geologists and workers began digging a mound in the ruins of the fort built by Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh, in Duandia Kheda village in Unnao district, 100km from Lucknow, after a meeting with local officials. A seer had dreamt last month about the buried gold and reportedly told union minister Charan Das Mahant about it.
The team of gold diggers is going ahead with its job without modern equipment at Duandia Kheda village in Unnao district. All they have are spades and pickaxes to go about their dream dig, which will take months to reach the estimated 20- metre spot where a “metal-like, non-rocky layup” had been identified during an earth drill on Friday.
Lucknow district magistrate Vijay Kiran Anand said that the Geological Survey of India’s hand-drawn map did show that there was some valuable metal alloy lying underneath. “But, we are not sure whether it is gold, iron or any other metal,” he told HT.
At present, a joint team of 10 ASI and two GSI men have marked out three 10x10 metre pits around the spot where the drilling had revealed a non-rocky substance 20 metres beneath the surface.
The team has scooped 15 cm sand out of one of the pits, while the digging in other two pits of the same dimensions has yet to begin.
The entire area has been barricaded with bamboo staffs and the three pits have been marked out with ‘colour ropes’. ASI officials said the pit dimension and sand sample details would be notified every after two-metre digging.
The hunt has created curiosity after reports that highly-revered local seer Shobhan Sarkar told Union minister Charan Das Mahant that the country’s financial troubles will ease to a great extent if the gold was excavated and spent on public welfare.
But Unnao district magistrate Vijay Kiran Anand sought to downplay the seer’s prophesy angle, saying the excavation was planned after the Geological Survey of India had noted the presence of some valuable metals beneath the earth at the fort.
Superintending archeologist, Archeological Survey of India’s Lucknow circle, PK Mishra echoed Anand’s sentiment.
“For us even an earthen pot is of immense importance. We are least bothered about gold and we do not work on dreams. We are just following the orders from Delhi,” Mishra said.
He said the presence of a non-rocky substance at the depth of 20-metres noticed during the geological survey was the only “proof” that prompted the excavation.
But Swami Om, Sarkar’s disciple, said his guru has a handwritten map of the GSI, which clearly mentions the presence of a treasure.
And the man behind it all, Sarkar, feels he may have put himself in trouble by prophesying something many will find hard to digest.
“I have written more letters about the presence of gold in Kanpur and Fatehpur districts. But the one in the neighborhood (Unnao) is enough to save our economy,” said the seer.
“I have even asked them to send me behind bars if I am proven wrong,” he said. His followers are equally firm.
“We know that baba’s dream will come true. He has performed many such miracles before,” said Virendra Tiwari, one of the seer’s followers from Barabanki district.
Treasure hunt: ASI to begin excavation in UP fort
The excavation, expected to take a month, will be filmed, the district magistrate said. Hundreds of local villagers and the seer’s followers in neighbouring districts thronged the site when the digging started.