As tribute to its rich history, Srinagar to get separate museum: Naeem Akhtar

Culture Minister dismayed over potential fire hazards at Old Secretariat building housing rare archives

SRINAGAR, MAY 18: Highlighting the significance of Museums as means of cultural exchanges, Minister for Culture, Naeem Akhtar, today said the State Government will carve out a separate museum for the capital city Srinagar as a tribute to the city’s rich history.

“The old building (of SPS Museum) is being conserved and we are hopeful that the process of conservation will be finished by the end of this year. Once the work is finished, we will design a separate museum for Srinagar city which will be a tribute to the city’s rich cultural and historical landscape,” Akhtar said.

The culture minister made these remarks during a function held at SPS Museum today to commemorate the International Day of Museum. The function was also attended by senior officers of the museum, enthusiastic school children and art lovers from different corners of the state.

A special exhibition of ‘Rare Manuscripts’ was held at the SPS museum here to commemorate the day.

“A nation’s museum is as rich as its history. In this regard, the SPS Museum is one of the most important museums in the country. It is the repository of Kashmir’s history enriched over the last 5000 years starting with the discoveries made at Burzhama,” he said.

The Minister urged the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly school children, to visit the SPS museum and cherish the company of rare artifacts and manuscripts in order to rediscover the rich history of J&K and reconnect with their roots.

“I particularly ask the school children to come and see the artifacts from Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir in order to acquaint themselves with their rich history of cultural exchanges which goes back 5000 years in time,” Akhtar said. 

Meanwhile, the Minister reviewed the process of preservation of archives kept at Old Secretariat building. Akhtar directed the officials to complete the process at the earliest while ensuring that the rare manuscripts do not suffer any damage. He also expressed displeasure over the potential fire hazards in and around the building and ordered their removal at the earliest.