ASI's gold hunt in Uttar Pradesh may end

The gold hunt in an Uttar Pradesh village sparked off by a Hindu religious leader's "dream" might end soon, sources in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said Tuesday.

Officials said digging for the supposedly buried 1,000 tonnes of gold had gone 16 feet deep into the earth's crust and the prospects of finding the yellow metal "look grim".

The gold hunt, which has created international interest, is taking place in Daundiya Kheda village in Unnao district, 100 km from Lucknow.

An ASI team has been digging the excavation site for 10 days but unearthed only glass bangles, broken pottery and some utensils along with a brick wall.

The Hindu religious leader had said that the erstwhile ruler of Unnao, Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh, appeared in his dream and said that 1,000 tonnes of gold lay buried under his fort in the village.

ASI officials said if further excavation did not yield any breakthrough in two or three days, the digging would be stopped.