Nitish ridicules ASI’s “gold rush” in Unnao

Patna,(BiharTimes): Alleging that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) ignored Bihar government’s request for digging historical sites more valuable than 1,000 tonnes of gold Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday ridiculed the Centre on the excavation at Unnao in central Uttar Pradesh.

Talking to the media on the sidelines of Janata Darbar on Monday he questioned how can a dream of a seer drive ASI to undertake excavation work and not heed to the request of any state government.

As widely reported the ASI is busy what many call digging out gold from the fort of Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh at Daudiakala village of Unnao district on the basis of a dream of seer Shobhan Sarkar.

The Bihar chief minister said that this step of ASI would send a wrong message to the world.

“Are they interested in throwing the country back into an era of orthodoxy?” he asked

He said the ASI showed no interest towards repeated proposals sent by the state for excavation at ancient sites in Madhubani, Nalanda, Bhagalpur and other places.

The chief minister said that excavation at Balrajgarh in Madhubani district, which could have helped in revealing information about a 2,200-year-old civilisation, was shelved without any reason.