VARANASI: The ASI team at Gyanvapi mosque often battled darkness to shed light on the edifice’s origins. The nine-member team’s challenges during the survey included heat, humidity, suffocation in cellars and even monkeys.
In view of HC’s directive only for surface study – without any excavation – the pace slowed down as the entire area was obscured by debris kept there before the exercise started.
The team worked in difficult weather conditions, under blazing sun to high humidity in the monsoon. The cellars had their own challenges. The south and north cellars had only a single entrance each, with no electricity or light available in them, the report states.
The south cellar was filled with discarded material, due to which stepping on the surface was difficult. For the first few days, the team worked in the cellars with torches and reflectors. The humidity within the cellars was much higher than outside. Lack of air circulation within was another issue. Since the north cellar was under lock, the level of humidity was higher there than in the south. The ASI arranged bulbs, exhaust and pedestal fans to make things bearable.
As monsoon arrived, so did seepage and slush. The ASI used tirpals (waterproof sheets) to protect the structures exposed after removal of debris. Then came challenges in storing equipment, tools and other paraphernalia as well as safe-keeping of retrieved materials. The report also highlights the menace of monkeys. Not only did the primates impede free movement, they also caused other disturbances like tearing up the tirpals after officials left the site every day.
In view of HC’s directive only for surface study – without any excavation – the pace slowed down as the entire area was obscured by debris kept there before the exercise started.
The team worked in difficult weather conditions, under blazing sun to high humidity in the monsoon. The cellars had their own challenges. The south and north cellars had only a single entrance each, with no electricity or light available in them, the report states.
The south cellar was filled with discarded material, due to which stepping on the surface was difficult. For the first few days, the team worked in the cellars with torches and reflectors. The humidity within the cellars was much higher than outside. Lack of air circulation within was another issue. Since the north cellar was under lock, the level of humidity was higher there than in the south. The ASI arranged bulbs, exhaust and pedestal fans to make things bearable.
As monsoon arrived, so did seepage and slush. The ASI used tirpals (waterproof sheets) to protect the structures exposed after removal of debris. Then came challenges in storing equipment, tools and other paraphernalia as well as safe-keeping of retrieved materials. The report also highlights the menace of monkeys. Not only did the primates impede free movement, they also caused other disturbances like tearing up the tirpals after officials left the site every day.