Plans afoot to shift Tiruchi Government Museum to Panjapur

The State government has announced the construction of a building with modern facilities at Panjapur in Tiruchi to house the Government Museum

The State government has announced the construction of a building with modern facilities at Panjapur in Tiruchi to house the Government Museum.

At present, the museum is housed in the Rani Mangammal Kolu Mandapam, which is more than 350 years old.

The site for the construction of the building to house the museum has been identified near the upcoming integrated bus stand along the Tiruchi-Madurai national highway at Panjapur. The new building would come up on five acres of land with modern facilities. An announcement in this regard was made in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday by the Minister of Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, Information and Publicity Department M.P. Saminathan during the demand for grants 2024-205. 

The State government has announced that ₹75 lakh would be allocated for preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the construction of the museum building with galleries to display the exhibits and other modern facilities.  The Government Museum in Tiruchi, which was started in 1983, began to function in a rented building in the Cantonment area.

In 1997, it was shifted to Rani Mangammal Kolu Mandapam situated in the Town Hall a little distance away from Rockfort Sri Thayumanaswamy temple. The mandapam was built by Chokkanatha Nayak in 1666. The museum is at present out of bounds for visitors in view of the conservation work being executed in phases. 

A senior official said tenders would be floated by the Department of Museums to select a consultancy to prepare the Detailed Project Report for the construction of the building at Panchapur.

It was felt by the authorities that there was no scope for expansion at the present location of the museum. Access to visitors and students were all taken into consideration while deciding on the new site, sources added.