Bhubaneswar, Aug. 9: A tooth relic, widely believed to be of Lord Buddha, has been lying unattended in the Archaeological Survey of India’s strong room in Bhubaneswar for over 25 years because of bureaucratic tangles.

The tooth relic was excavated from Lalitgiri in Jajpur in 1985 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The ASI asserts that it has plans to exhibit the relic in proper ambience at a museum they will build near Lalitgiri. However, the state government has so far been unable to convince the ASI to either display the relic at the state museum or take up the project of building the museum.

The tooth relic was found inside a small gold casket encased in multiple containers of silver, steatite and the outermost Khandolite casket. After excavation in 1985, the archaeologists had claimed the tooth relic to be of Buddha, which attracted interest from all quarters.

“Circumstantial evidence of the tooth being protected by multiple layers of caskets made of precious material and buried under the Mahastupa known to be the main centre of worship at the Lalitgiri monastery makes us assume that it is a Buddha relic,” said a technical officer of the ASI who did not wish to be named.

However, the relic has ever since been lying idle in the strong room whereas tooth relics have been displayed at museums in other Buddhist centres in China, Sri Lanka and Singapore, making the places sought after tourist destinations.

“Buddhist pilgrims would be keen to visit Odisha to have a glimpse of the relic that was so venerated. It used to be worshipped at the centuries-old monastery in Lalitgiri from where it was found,” said Ashok Tripathy, secretary of state culture and tourism department.

“Many officials of the state government have tried to get the permission to exhibit the relic at either the state museum or the Lalitgiri site itself, but to no avail,” he said.

Tripathy said that after obtaining the permission of the director-general of the ASI, New Delhi, the tooth relic was displayed at the state museum in 2008 for the princess of Thailand. “She is a Buddhist scholar, and on seeing the relic, she kneeled and prayed. Last year, we had sought the permission to allow the deputy high commissioner of Sri Lanka to see the relic which was arranged at the ASI Bhubaneswar office,” he said.

A culture department official said that a couple of years ago, the ASI and the state government had planned to temporarily exhibit the relic for public viewing at the state museum. “But, just before inking the agreement Jajpur MP Mohan Jena raised an objection not to exhibit the relic in Bhubaneswar but in Jajpur. The process got stalled after that,” said the official.

An ASI official said they had been planning a museum at Lalitgiri where the relic would be displayed with extreme care.

“It is a very valuable article from the archaeological point of view and we have been taking care of it and keeping it in an extremely confidential and secure strong room. Displaying it without proper care is risky, and hence, the ASI will display it at the Lalitgiri museum for which work will begin shortly,” said H.A. Naik, deputy superintendent of the ASI, Bhubaneswar circle.

Newly appointed culture minister Maheswar Mohanty will take up the matter with Union minister of culture Kumari Selja.

“Chief secretary Bijay Patnaik has also proposed that if the ASI would allow, the state government will go ahead and build a museum or fund the ASI for the construction, so that the relic is available for public viewing as soon as possible,” said Tripathy.