NEW DELHI: Visitors coming to the International Museum Expo at Pragati Maidan, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 18, will get an opportunity to see glimpses of the ‘Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum’ coming up at the north and south blocks through the virtual walkthrough.
Mugdha Sinha, joint secretary, culture ministry said that various sections of the museum will showcase the journey of Indian civilization.
“We have done a virtual curation of how these buildings will look once the museum comes up. This will also be inaugurated by the Prime Minister,” said Singh while giving details about the International Tourism Expo. The museum will cover an area of 1.17 lakh square metres including a basement, ground, and two floors with 950 rooms. “The museum will depict the story of India’s civilization culture of more than 5,000 years,” he added.
As part of the Central Vista redevelopment project, the National Museum will relocate to north and south blocks, the two secretariat buildings housing offices of the prominent ministries and Prime Minister’s Office. About 10,000 artefacts — currently displayed at National Museum — will be placed for the public at the new location.
At present, the museum has nearly 2 lakh objects belonging to various dynasties and periods including the pre-historic era and Indus Valley civilization. However, only 7,000 are on display and the remaining collection is in reserve storage.
After the shifting, the existing building constructed in 1960 will reportedly be demolished to pave the way for construction of new government office blocks that will be part of the Common Secretariat. The three-day expo will showcase cultural heritage exhibited in different museums across states and will serve as a knowledge-sharing platform, where domain experts will discuss best practices and standard operating procedures.
10,000 artefacts to be on display
About 10k artefacts currently displayed at National Museum, will be placed for the public.