British-era Thanjai Collector’s office to become mega museum

A 5D theatre will be one of the highlights at the new tourist spot.

The Indo-Saracenic building erected in 1896 during the colonial rule, was serving as the headquarters of the composite Thanjavur district and subsequently it became the Collectorate of the present Thanjavur district and continued till 2015. Since there was a space crunch in the building, a 61.42-acre site was identified near Tamil University and a new building was constructed and opened on June 2, 2015 for the Collectorate.

As it was a heritage building, the then Thanjavur district administration decided to convert the main building of the old collector office into a museum and displayed an information board about the heritage of Thanjavur heritage, besides setting up an aquarium as an additional attraction to lure tourists. This apart, the district administration organised folk performances during Saturdays and allowed the public to witness the events free of cost. In due course of time, a few government offices that were functioning in rented buildings were shifted to adjacent buildings in the old collectorate premises.

Though the main building of the old collectorate was turned into a small museum, it failed to attract tourists and the district administration decided to renovate the building and turn it into a mega museum under the Thanjavur Smart City Mission funds. Subsequently, a fund of Rs 9.90 crore was allotted to renovate the structure and make it into a tourist attraction. Following this, the works have commenced and expected to be completed in six months. “There are some small structures made by the PWD for the feasibility for functioning of the government offices and we would remove all these structures and renovate and conserve the heritage building in its original form and it will be converted into a museum. This will have a host of facilities, including a 5D theatre to exhibit the grandeur of Thanjavur,” said P Janaki Ravindran, Thanjavur Corporation Commissioner.

The museum would have a sound and light show and musical fountains would be established. At the same time, a few more attractions would be made based on the requirement, she said.

“So far, 40 per cent of works have been completed and the entire job will be completed in six months,” added the commissioner.