KURNOOL: Once a repository of invaluable historic heritage of Rayalaseema region, the Kurnool District Museum located on the banks of the River Handri is reduced to a four-walled building. The museum is preserving remaining artefacts after the flash floods that washed away the treasure in 2009. The damage was so much so that the register of objects was washed away in floods, along with invaluable artefacts which could not be accounted, said a historian. But the lone technical assistant B. Mahendra Naidu maintains that nothing was lost.
Archeological Museum which is being maintained by Archeological Society of India is a priceless treasure trove of Rayalaseema history. While the 2009 flash floods devastated it, the apathy of the government after bifurcation has rendered it useless with scanty release of funds and absolutely no staff. There is only a technical assistant and a chowkidar, it is learnt.
The museum has about 900 objects which were recovered, chemically treated after the flash floods that muddied the treasure beyond repair. Though the chemical treatment was over, several objects are still dumped in the backyard. The technical assistant of the museum Mahender Naidu said, “After the floods, some objects were taken to Visakhapatnam, Nellore and Penugonda. Whatever is left hereis being showcased and we have all the shelves restored. Some objects are kept in the open yard with protection, he added.
The museum is open from Saturday to Thursday and entry fee is Rs 3 for adults and Rs 1 for children, he said. The museum houses prehistoric objects, megalithic pottery, prehistoric tools, hand accessories, beads, coins, Chinese porcelain, armours and paintings, he stated. Old timers in Kurnool recollect that paintings belonging to the 18th century were lost. Not only this, the glass showcases containing prehistoric stone tools, coins of Ikshvaka, Mughal, Sathavahana dynasties and sculptures of Chalukya period were a must see items in museum. But the ravages of time have taken them away, they quipped. The museum is priceless as it preserved artefacts such as broken sculptures from temples in the vicinity such as Sangameshwaram, Alampur, Srisailam; weapons used by the local chieftains are preserved in the Kurnool Museum.
