After gas emission, work stopped, ASI to watch stepwell excavation
After getting information from the Sambhal administration, a four-member team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reached the spot and instructed officials to first clear the mud and stop the digging work.
Pawan Dixit

pawan.dixit@htlive.com
The excavation of a historic stepwell in Sambhal was stopped on Wednesday after emission of gas when the second floor was being dug up, officials said.
After getting information from the Sambhal administration, a four-member team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reached the spot and instructed officials to first clear the mud and stop the digging work.
Further digging of the stepwell will only be carried out under observation of the ASI team.
Chandausi Nagar Palika executive officer Krishna Kumar Sonkar said, “Further digging of the stepwell will be carried out under ASI supervision.”
This decision was taken after emission of gas during digging of the second floor of the stepwell, he added.
Till then, the workforce engaged in the digging work will clear the mud. Two floors of the stepwell were dug up and were clearly visible on the 12th day of the exercise.
The stepwell is registered in revenue records as “Bilari ki Rani ki Bavadi’. The exact period of the stepwell could not be ascertained.
According to officials, two floors of the stepwell have been excavated and there could be a third floor also.
The stepwell or ‘baoli’ was discovered on December 21 in Lakshman Ganj area of the Chandausi tehsil of the Sambhal district and is spread over 400 sq metres.
On December 20, an ASI team carried out a survey and carbon dating at the Kartik Mahadev temple also known as Bhasma Shankar temple at Khaggu Sarai in Sambhal and five other Hindu pilgrimage sites, including Bhadrak Ashram, Swargdeep and Chakrapani and 19 wells.
The temple was reopened after 46 years on December 13 after the authorities said they stumbled upon the structure during a drive against power theft. It had remained locked since 1978. The temple has an idol of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling.
