Chief Minister said that the State Museum would add to the favourite tourists’ spots in the capital town of Shimla, where one can peep into rich cultural heritage of the State. He was speaking on the occasion of dedication of newly constructed block of State Museum to the people at Chaura Maidan, here today, completed at a cost of Rs. five crore.
Chief Minister said that a large number of tourists had been visiting Shimla round the year and a major chunk of them, especially art lovers and foreigners had been making it a point to visit the State Museum to educate themselves about the rich cultural heritage of the hill State. He said that over 20 thousand tourists, including thousands of foreigners, had been visiting the Museum every year. He said that with the addition of new block more space would be available to showcase cultural heritage of the State in spacious exhibition halls. He said that Himachal Pradesh was rich in cultural diversity and many of the aspects were of interesting to know besides presenting some exhibits in the exhibition. He said that the Museum had provided ample space to the Kangra and other paintings which had been a source of attraction to the visitors from all over the world.
Prof. Dhumal said that top floor of the new block had been constructed in a typical hill architecture where quality wooden work had been carried in an artistic manner. He said that the Museum had biggest library in the State providing every information to the research scholars and other enthusiasts. He said that Pahari Miniature, Himachal Jewellery, Rajasthan Miniature, Contemporary Paintings, Numismatic Gallery and Anthropological sections had been added to the Museum. He said that additionally there were galleries on sculpture, painting, bronzes, arms, philately and life of Mahatma Gandhi. He said that a Special Section on Himachali culture had been conceptualized and would soon be dedicated to the visitors. He said that besides exhibits a laboratory had also been established to conserve and preserve antiquities and manuscripts. He said that the State Government had been endeavouring to create more spots to prolong stay of visitors to Shimla and engage them in interesting visits so that they could return home refreshed and reenergized.
Manisha Nanda, Principal Secretary, Art Language and Culture, welcomed the Chief Minister and detailed activities at the State Museum. Suresh Bhardwaj, MLA, Veena Thakur, Chairperson, State Social Welfare Board, Ganesh Datt, Vice Chairman, HIMUDA, Onkar Sharma, DC, Sonal Agnihotri, SP, Rakesh Kanwar, Director, Language and Culture, Lokender Chauhan, Managing Director, HPTDC, Naresh Sharma, Chief Engineer, PWD, other senior officers and prominent people of the town were present on the occasion.
