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Journalism of Courage
Behind the November 27 tragedy near the Harappan site of Lothal — where a researcher from IIT Delhi was killed when a trench she was working in collapsed on her – are a series of missteps.
To begin with, the joint team of IIT Delhi and IIT Gandhinagar, which was carrying out a soil sample survey, hadn’t kept the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the loop. Two, the dig was carried out within the 100-metre prohibited limit of an ASI-protected site. And three, the researchers allegedly got an excavator working on a road project nearby to dig a 12-foot-deep trench without anticipating the high water levels in the soil.
The four researchers – two from IIT-Delhi and two from IIT-Gandhinagar – were at the site on the morning of November 27 to collect soil samples as part of their ongoing research into the impact of climate change on the Indus Valley civilisation when the trench collapsed, burying Surabhi Verma, a 23-year-old PhD student from IIT-Delhi, and her Associate Professor Yama Dixit, who was leading the study. While Verma could not be rescued on time, Professor Dixit was pulled out by the first responders.
While Verma and Prof Dixit are from the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS) at IIT Delhi, the team from the Archeological Sciences Centre at IIT Gandhinagar, which was providing the logistical support for the study, had Associate Professor V N Prabhakar and Shikha Rai, a Senior Research Fellow.
A day after the tragedy, Dr Abhijit Ambekar, Superintending Archeologist of the ASI’s Vadodara Circle, who was at the spot to probe the accident, said, “We have no record of any permission being sought for the work that was carried out here. If it had been sought, they would have received the permission with some sort of conditions and even then, someone from the ASI would have been on the spot with them.”
The trench was being dug 50 metres from the main gate of the Lothal site which falls within the prohibited area.
However, speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior ASI official said that while permission is required for any excavation work within 100 metres of a protected site, since the IIT study wasn’t an “archaeological excavation” but a dig for soil collection, it didn’t need the ASI’s nod. “Archaeological excavation within 100 metres of the site needs permission but since this was only digging, it does not require permission. But it is certain that they did not follow the safety norms,” the official said.
The Indian Express has learnt that the researchers, who arrived at the spot on November 27 morning, approached the driver of an excavator working on a road leading to the proposed Maritime Museum in Lothal and asked him to dig a trench for their study. At the spot on Thursday, the excavator operator told the ASI’s Ambekar that he was told to dig a “10- to 12-foot-deep pit the width of the scoop bucket”, resulting in a narrow trench about two feet wide. Sources said that while Verma was inside the pit, Prof Dixit was a level above her. Above them, on the ground, was the team from IIT Gandhinagar – Associate Professor V N Prabhakar and Senior Research Fellow Shikha Rai – doing the log entries.
Sources say the collapse took the team by surprise – Verma and Dixit were inside, collecting soil samples in the narrow trench, when the soil collapsed behind them, pushing them face first into the wall in front. Locals at the spot described another collapse that followed immediately after, which was followed by a surge of water that filled the pit in no time, burying the two researchers.
The Indian Express reached out to IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee but he declined to comment on the matter. IIT Gandhinagar Associate Professor V N Prabhakar, IIT Delhi’s Yama Dixit and IIT Delhi Dean of Faculty and Centre for Atmospheric Sciences Professor Krishna Mirle Achutarao did not respond to calls and messages.
A day after the cave-in, the trench had widened considerably as the soil kept collapsing from the sides – about half the trench was filled with water. Water levels have risen in the region following heavy rains this monsoon season, with the dockyard at the Lothal ruins, 50 metres from the site of the tragedy, still submerged.
Sub Inspector P N Gohil of the Koth police station, who is investigating the case, said, “The investigation is currently underway. The post-mortem procedure was conducted at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and the family has taken the body back to Uttar Pradesh.”
Verma’s cousin Ajir Verma, who had come to Lothal from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, blamed the researchers for the tragedy. “I’m not an expert but even I can see that you cannot enter a pit this narrow. There is no rope, no helmet, no safety equipment. This is the height of negligence. The team went inside without any safety equipment and didn’t seek ASI permission. The professor was unaware about the soil conditions, the water table being so high and they both went inside without any experts with them,” he said.
IIT Gandhinagar released a statement saying the study was being conducted by IIT Delhi and that they had only provided “local support”. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred at Lothal… Although IIT Gandhinagar was not involved in the project, our colleagues at IIT Delhi approached us to provide local support as we are familiar with the archaeological site.”
In an email to students after the accident, IIT-Delhi Dean of Students Bijayaketan Panigrahi wrote, “With a very heavy heart, it is our unfortunate duty to inform you of the tragic and untimely demise of our student, Surabhi Verma… Our faculty colleague, Prof. Yama Dixit, and the Ph.D. student, Surabhi Verma, from the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS), IIT-Delhi, had gone to Gandhinagar, Gujarat, for a field trip to collect paleoclimate data. While conducting an excavation, they met with an accident, due to which, sadly, our student Surabhi was fatally injured and passed away. Prof. Dixit, who was also injured during the mishap, is undergoing medical treatment in the hospital.”
Prof Dixit has since been discharged from hospital. An Associate Professor at IIT Delhi, she is an expert in paleoclimatology, with her research focusing on proxy reconstructions and paleoclimate dynamics, changes in hydrology, abrupt climate change and impacts on ancient societies.
Surabhi Verma, the second of four siblings, was from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, where her father Ram Khilawat Verma is a government school teacher. She was the first in her family to have made it to an IIT.
Professor Prabhakar, Associate Professor of Earth Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar, has worked extensively on Lothal. He had recently delved into the Lothal dockyard theory, employing multi-sensor data, cloud computing, and advanced analytical platforms.
