The Hindu : In dinosaur country

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004

National

National

In dinosaur country

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, FEB. 24. A stone-like rounded object, believed to be the fossilised egg of a dinosaur, was recovered in Balasinor town in Kaira district of central Gujarat on Sunday.

The object was found when labourers working for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited were digging to erect a telecommunication tower.

The District Collector, Tara Mukundan, confirmed the find and said she had requested the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials in Vadodara to examine the object and the site. The "egg" is with BSNL officials.

Indications that dinosaurs roamed the region some 65 million years ago came about a year ago when a fossilised skull was recovered from Raioli village, about 20 km from Balasinor. After studying the skull, experts had concluded that it could be that of a 30-foot-long dinosaur that lived 65 million years ago.

Earlier, on the basis of the recovery of other tell-tale evidence including fossilised eggs in the region, the ASI had invited about a dozen foreign experts to visit the area. They had expressed the opinion that dinosaurs could have inhabited the region millions of years ago. Dr. Paul Sereno, a Professor of Palaeontology from the University of Chicago, who reconstructed the skull, gave a similar opinion.

The Gujarat Government plans to set up a "dinosaur park" in the sandy tracts of the Raioli region. The recovery of the fossil could add momentum to the plans.

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