(a) whether a city of ancient Harappan culture has been discovered at Dhobrira in Gujarat;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(a) whether the Government propose to set up a museum of international standard at Dhobrira;
(b) if so, the details thereof together with financial allocations made therefor; and
(c) the time by which the work on this project is likely to be taken up?
MINISTER FOR TOURISM AND CULTURE (SHRI JAGMOHAN)
(a) & (b) Yes, Sir. The excavations at Dholavira, District Kachchha, Gujarat are being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India, intermittently, since 1990. The excavations have brought to light typical Harappan planning, water harvesting and storage systems, funerary structures, inscriptions, seals, sealings, weights and pottery characterizing the successive cultural stages covering a time-span beginning from the 3rd millennium B.C. ending around 1500 B.C.
(c) (d) & (e) The Archaeological Survey of India proposes to construct a museum at Dholavira. However, no detailed exercise in this regard has been conducted so far regarding design, location, funding, etc.