Egmore museum’s heritage buildings to be restored soon

Many of the heritage buildings within the museum complex are in a bad shape. When confronted, Minister for Tamil Official Language, Tamil Culture and Archaeology, K Pandiarajan said that a Rs 10-crore proposal has been prepared for overall restoration of key heritage buildings within the museum complex. “In buildings like the Centenary Hall and other heritage structures, which are more than a hundred years old, these edifices should be restored, without losing their heritage value. The restoration will be carried out in a scientific manner with a team of trained experts. We want to convert the museum into a world-class facility. We will be reimagining the entire museum, in terms of display, to achieve this. We have given a Rs 10 crore proposal to the government and are expecting a clearance soon. The National Art Gallery at the Egmore Museum was recently restored at a cost of Rs 11 crore,” said the minister. 

He also pointed out that they are also collaborating with corporate agencies to help augment the facilities at the museum. “In a meeting held on Tuesday with 50 Corporate companies, we were looking at corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for betterment of the heritage infrastructure. For instance, Bank of Tokyo will be setting up a water storage system within the museum, which was not available earlier, for Rs 50 lakh at the Government Museum in Egmore,” added Pandiarajan. 

Architect Tara Murali said that a proper plan should be in place to maintain these heritage structures. “All our heritage buildings are in an urgent need of maintenance. We need a proper plan to maintain these structures, so when instances such as leakages occur, they can be immediately attended to. These heritage buildings are as valuable as the artefacts they house,” she pointed out. 

Established in 1851, Government Museum of Chennai is the second oldest museum of India.