TIRUCHY: The renovation of Rani Mangammal’s Darbar Hall, which houses the Government Museum, which dragged on for six years, will gather pace soon as the union and state governments have allocated the required funds to take up the second phase of renovation work.
Though the first phase of work was completed, subsequent works were delayed due to the 2020 pandemic. The second phase will cover renovation of the front elevation, lighting, display showcases, the stone sculpture park and basic amenities like drinking water and restrooms.
According to officials, the Tamil Nadu government allocated Rs 55 lakh as its contribution to resume the renovation work at five government museums in Pudukkottai, Tirunelveli, Tiruchy and the Nilgiris, following the union government’s sanction of Rs 2.23 crore, including Rs 74.98 lakh for Tiruchy, and Rs 80 lakh for Pudukottai as its contribution.
As the artistic frescoes and decorative elements around the hall began to fade-and in some areas disappeared entirely, the State Archaeology Department approached the union government to conserve the structure. In response, the union government sanctioned Rs 3.75 crore under the Museum Grants Scheme in 2019 to renovate the hall in Tiruchy. After a gap of six years, the required funds to resume the work have been sanctioned by both the Union and state governments, officials said.
Welcoming the move, heritage enthusiasts had expressed concern that several rare sculptures and historical objects, including a four-foot-tall Buddha statue, a 10th-century Mahaveer sculpture, 14th-century Pallava artefacts, an East India Company cannon, and various idols of Hindu gods and goddesses, were being kept in the open, resulting in the loss of their lustre.
P Manimuthu, Curator of the Government Museum, told TNIE that with both governments having sanctioned funds for the second phase of the work, facelifting work will resume soon.
“The union government took care of the renovation in the first phase. Now, the state government has decided to involve the PWD (Heritage Wing) to resume the work,” he added.
