The seer convinced Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industry Charan Das Mahant, who, in turn, convinced the ASI and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to inspect the place. A team of experts visited the area on October 12 and drilled two holes at a point shown by Sarkar. About 20 metres deep, the drilling machine hit something that seemed different from earth. The excavation began on October 18.