Unnao: Even as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started the excavation work at the Unnao fort of former king Raja Ram Bux Singh on Friday to search for 1,000 tonnes of gold reportedly buried under it, a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court asking the court to monitor the entire process. The petitioner has also sought Army's supervision of the excavation work.
Officials said the survey of the fort of the late ruler of Unnao, Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh, at Duandia Khera village began at 11 am after a puja was performed by Hindu seers. Unnao is 50 km from Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow.
ASI officials have been camping at the site for the last three days and completed marking the area of the potential treasure trove late Thursday amid tight security.
A Hindu seer, Sadhu Shobhan Sarkar, had claimed that there were thousand of tonnes of gold buried under the ruins of Unnao fort. His claims has brought Duandia Khera into the lime light.
As news of the saint's dream spread like wild fire, Duandia Khera started buzzing with activity. Archaeologists are now gearing up to begin excavations and curious villagers have been thronging the site.
However, it needs to be seen whether the excavations strike gold. But the man who dreamt about it is confident. "There is a huge amount of gold buried under the fort. I believe we will find more treasure than we have space for in Unnao," said Sant Om ji Maharaj.
Shobhan Sarkar reportedly convinced Union minister Charandas Mahant of his dream, who then convinced a team of ASI and GSI officials to survey the area and begin excavations. "We had been given proposal by the gram sabha. They think gold is buried there," said VK Anand, DM, Unnao.
Preliminary findings, officials say, suggested presence of "some metal underneath the earth", following which ASI teams decided to proceed with the excavation.
Experts, however, are not too sure about the possibility of gold buried underneath.
While many do not rule out the discovery of some gold, they say it is not possible for 1,000 tonnes of gold being buried under the fort as Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh was a ruler who presided over a zamindari stretching not more than 25-30 km.
Unmindful of the end result, villagers are already discussing how to put the treasure to use. "If we find treasure then Raja Bux Singh's name should be added to Daundia Kheda village and an airstrip should be opened in this village," said village headman Ajay Pal.
(with inputs from IANS)
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