PANAJI
After a nine-year long delay, the Goa government has finally initiated a process for the construction of the State’s first-ever Tribal Museum for freedom fighters and to showcase the history and culture of the tribal communities.
The Tourism Department has appointed Fourth Dimension Architect Pvt Ltd as the consultant for the project proposed to come up at their own land at Bandora-Ponda at an estimated cost of Rs 19.3 crore. The project, which was initially handled by the department of Tribal Welfare, was transferred to the Tourism department due to land ownership.
A senior official at the tribal welfare confirmed that the Tourism Department has appointed Fourth Dimension Architect Ptv Ltd as the consultant for the project, foundation stone for which is expected to be laid soon. “The project is coming up on Tourism Department land spread across 29,000 sq meters,” official said.
The official said that the museum will have a Tribal Life Gallery, full-sized models of the tribes’ houses, dwellings, the traditional kitchen and other artefacts used by them during initial phases or are continued to be used. He said that the tribal department will provide all the information, antiquities and other related items to be displayed in the museum.
The department had last year roped in an agency, Disha Foundation to collect all the relevant information; however they failed to provide the exact data that they were looking forward to.
“Hence, we later appealed to people for help. We also approach the tribal community for assistance, as without them the project cannot go ahead. We have managed to get some information and by the time the project is ready, we would be ready with all the required material,” he said.
According to the Tourism Department, the official said that the project will be completed within 18-20 months, from the day the construction work starts.
In 2016, PM Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort announced that the government will build museums to commemorate the lives of unsung freedom fighters from the tribal community. Since then the Tribal Affairs Ministry has sanctioned ten such museums including one in Goa, which will come up at Ponda on land belonging to the Tourism Department.
The Union Ministry has sanctioned Rs 15 crore for the project -- dedicated to the life of tribal freedom fighters and the community as a whole. The Ministry has specified that all the museums will involve the use of virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D and 7D holographic projection, etc.
