It will cost the exchequer Rs. 15.63 crore
The State Archaeology Department has taken up the restoration and renovation of 69 protected monuments in the State at an estimated cost of Rs. 15.63 crore.
This includes the restoration of mantapas around the kalyani at Melkote at a cost of Rs. 50 lakh, the renovation and restoration of Parsvanath Basdi at Kanakagiri in Chamarajanagar district at a cost of Rs. 30 lakh, the Srikanteshwara temple at KM Halli on the outskirts of Mysore at a cost of Rs. 50 lakh, among others.
But the icing on the cake is the conversion of Dewan Purnaiah’s bungalow at Yellandur into a full-fledged museum for which the property is being acquired on a lease for 33 years.
Disclosing this, Mr. R. Gopal, Director, Department of Archaeology and Museums, told The Hindu that the descendants of Dewan Purnaiah have agreed to lease out the bungalow to the Archaeology Department for 33 years at a cost of Rs. 1,000 per annum. The lease deed was being finalised and has gone to the legal cell for approval, he added.
Once acquired on lease, the bungalow would be restored befitting its heritage status. The work is expected to be ready by the end of the current financial year while the Dewan Purnaiah Memorial Government Museum would take some time for development. However, it is likely to be thrown open to the public by 2011-12, according to Mr. Gopal.
He said plans are to display all the records pertaining to Dewan Purnaiah in the historical context while a gallery exclusively devoted to the art and architecture of Karnataka would be developed. Also on the anvil is an epigraphy gallery, an inscription gallery which will showcase copies of important inscriptions of the State apart from a sculpture gallery.
History
Dewan Purnaiah was a Minister under Tipu Sultan and after the death of Tipu in the Fourth Mysore War in May, 1799, the Mysore kingdom was restored to the Wadiyars and Purnaiah, who was reckoned to be an able administrator was made the Dewan of the Mysore kingdom. Among the notable achievements of Purnaiah included suppression of the palegars of the region, administrative division of the kingdom for better efficiency, initiatives for public works like the Sagarkatte Dam across the Cauvery at K.R. Nagar.
The Mysore Gazetteer notes that the vaccination against small pox was introduced in Mysore by Dewan Purnaiah in 1806, for the first time in India. Historians say the region was so prosperous under his Dewanship that people migrated from Nizam’s dominion during the 1804 famine. In recognition of his services, the British granted him Yellandur as a jagir in 1807.
Mr. Gopal said a wax museum showcasing life-style statue of important historical personalities of the region including some of the prominent rulers of the Wadiyar dynasty, Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali was also in the offing. The museum would be an attraction to tourists visiting B.R. Hills as they would have to pass through Yellandur and hence was expected to be popular.
- Dewan Purnaiah Memorial Government Museum will come up in Purnaiah’s bungalow
- Purnaiah’s descendants to lease it out to the Archaeology Department for 33 years
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by R Krishna Kumar / Mysore – December 24th, 2010