Waiting for a new campus for 13 years, Kelkar museum pins hopes on new CM

At present, the museum, located off Bajirao road, which is part of Pune’s cultural express, displays only 12.5 per cent of the 20,000-odd artefacts while the remaining are kept in huge store rooms or below the main display.

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While the state government first allotted three acres of land in 2002 for the new building complex, there has been no word on funds for construction.

“We wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the start of the year regarding the various issues faced by the Kelkar museum, requesting him to increase the annual maintenance amount, give a deadline extension for construction of the new building and allocate Rs 25 crore towards its construction,” said Sudhanva Ranade, director of the museum.

In 2002, during the rule of late CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, the state government allotted three acres for the new campus, followed by another three acres during Sushilkumar Shinde’s term. The land was allotted on the condition that the new building had to be constructed within the next four years.

“However, we were granted an extension earlier. This time too, we have requested the district administration to give us an extension of another five years so that we can hopefully garner funds towards construction,” Ranade said.

While the state government had earlier increased the annual maintenance amount for the museum from Rs 35 lakh to Rs 55 lakh, the museum’s board sent a request last year to increase it further to Rs 60 lakh.

“We are hoping that the government initially gives us Rs 25 crore for the construction of the new building,” Ranade said. The museum was a result of late Punyabhooshan Dr DG alias Kakasaheb Kelkar, who collected the finest examples of folk arts and Indian craftsmanship.

Kelkar handed over the collection to the state’s archeology department in 1962. Presently, the three-storey building of the museum is divided into 40 sections.