Lucknow: While the mosque committee and the Hindu side have been making claims and counterclaims about the findings of the ongoing survey of Gyanvapi, a team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, joined the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Sunday.
On Sunday, the ASI team again took the keys of the Gyanvapi basement from the mosque committee and started cleaning it. The ASI team fitted the basement with electric lights and exhaust fans before starting the survey there. Two experts from the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT Kanpur reached the Gyanvapi premises on Sunday and accompanied the ASI team in the survey. According to the ASI, GPR experts from IIT Kanpur have joined, and in a day or two, the survey would be done through hi-tech machines.
Mosque committee refuses to hand over keys of basement
The mosque committee, however, refused to hand over the keys of the basement and said that it would provide them as and when needed. There are four basements in the Gyanvapi premises, and one of them is known as Vyas Tehkhana, which was surveyed on Saturday and Sunday. While two of the basements are locked with filth and garbage inside, one is in the custody of the mosque committee. The basement known as Vyas Tehkhana was not under the possession of the mosque committee, and its keys were with the priest of the Shringaar Gauri temple located inside the Gyanvapi premises.
It may be mentioned that on Saturday, the counsel for the Hindu side, Anupam Diwedi, had claimed that a few pieces of idols and remains of the ancient temple were found in the ASI survey. He had claimed that a few pieces of idols were seen during the 3D imaging, framing, and scanning inside the Gyanvapi basement, besides some remains of an ancient temple. However, the mosque committee on Sunday brushed aside all these claims and said that it is satisfied with the survey so far.
The joint secretary of the mosque committee, SM Yaseen, said that the petitioners, as well as the counsels from the Hindu side, have been making bogus claims to mount pressure on the ASI team. He said that the administration must keep a vigil on such people. According to him, the mosque committee would seek legal action on false claims made by certain people.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the ASI team surveyed three tombs of Gyanvapi and the premises. They also noted the scripts and murals found on the walls.
