KHANDAPADA:The Pathani Samanta Interpretation Centre at Khandapada in Nayagarh district will be converted into a museum in the next six months. Work for the purpose will be implemented by the Science and Technology Department after the building is handed over to it by March 15.
This was informed by Prof Jayadev Kara, Deputy Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium at Bhubaneswar, who visited the centre this week along with a team of officials from the Tourism Department and Science and Technology Department to take stock of the development works that need to be undertaken. Kara said developing the museum at the native place of the great astronomer aims at popularising astronomy, astrophysics and space science among public.
The Tourism Department had set up the centre in 2009 but after lying idle for a long time, the Government decided to hand it over to the Science and Technology Department for developing it as a museum.
State Government had earlier requested the National Council of Science Museum to submit an estimate for repairing and renovating exhibits on life and works of Samanta Chandrasekhar to be installed in the museum. Rare articles, used by the astronomer like the two bamboo sticks that he used to calculate the movement of planets, will be collected from Samanta Chandrasekhar Trust, Khandapada, and placed in the museum. In addition to these, a bronze statue of Pathani Samanta will be installed on the museum premises. An amount of Rs two crore will be spent by the State Government.
Pathani Samanta made his astronomical research during the period 1835 to 1904 without any knowledge of telescopes, binoculars and other modern instruments. His magnum opus ‘Siddhanta Darpan’ in Sanskrit, published in 1899, was highly acclaimed by Western scientific journals ‘Nature’ and ‘Knowledge’.
■ Work will be implemented by the Science and Technology Department
■ An amount of Rs two crore will be spent by the State Government
■ Developing the museum at the native place of the great astronomer aims at popularising astronomy, astrophysics and space science