HYDERABAD: With the ICSE board exams coming to an end on Tuesday, expect some action again at the Vidyaranya High School where a treasure hunt by the State Archaeology Department hit the headlines a few weeks back. It is learnt that the technical committee of experts, formed to study the report of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) which surveyed the area at the Naubat Pahad, will meet in a couple of days. The panel will decide the future course of action.
However, the owners of the property have not yet been informed of any moves to resume “exploration activities.”
“I have not been informed of any further exploration on the school premises,” said Krishnadev Rao, son of the last ruler of the Wanaparathi Samsthan.
The government had decided to form the technical committee comprising of experts from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), Remote Sensing Agency, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), State Archeology Department and the NMDC, following the submission of a detailed report by the NMDC.
The NMDC, which conducted various geophysical surveys at the Naubat Pahad, had confirmed the existence of some construction or cavity beneath the site.
According to its report, linear magnetic anomalies were found, which could be due to the presence of a shallow magnetic object or a construction or an iron sheet cavity.
These anomalies could be situated at a depth of 20 feet. The Archeology Department had undertaken exploration activities on the site on February 17 on receipt of a sworn affidavit from a group of nine citizens about the possibility of a storage room and a treasure beneath the Naubat Pahad.
The department had roped in the NMDC after drawing flak for its unscientific approach.