Baripada: A museum set up in 1922 on the premises of Goddess Kichakeswari temple in the ancient village of Khiching in Mayurbhanj district is expected to get a new lease of life as a decision has been taken to hand over its upkeep and maintenance to the district Administration.
The museum’s maintenance was earlier entrusted with the state archeology department while it was being supervised by the tourism and culture department. Proper upkeep of the museum assumes much importance as Khiching has found a place of prominence in the tourism map of the state.
With the museum lying in a state of neglect, locals and culture lovers had been demanding for effective measures to maintain it. After a long time, the tourism and culture department has handed over its maintenance to the district administration.
When Mayurbhanj was a royal estate, Khiching was its capital. The shrine dedicated to Goddess Kichakeswari, the presiding deity of Mayurbhanj, was believed to have been set up between 920 and 926 AD. The 100-ft high temple is unique in view of its architecture. The temple was completely made of black granite.
Khiching has two more old temples, which have added to the uniqueness of the place. After abolition of the royal dominion, the capital was shifted elsewhere while all valuable monuments began to crumble due to ravages of time. Many temple structures even vanished in forests.
To revive the heritage, erstwhile king Pratap Chandra Bhanjdeo of Mayurbhanj initiated efforts in 1934 and gathered broken temple stones from rubble mounds. Reconstruction of the Khiching temple was completed in 1942. About 60 per cent of the old stones were used in the temple while 40 per cent of the stone was new.
A number of rare statues and figurines including those of Hara, Chanda, Prachanda, Ardhanareswar, Umamaheswar, Dhyanibuddha, Bishnu, Brahma, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Brahmani, Rudrani, Baishnabi, Barahi, Jain, Nagakanaya, Nagapurusa, Ganga, Jamuna and iron remnants dating back to the Mahabharata age, arms and ammunition, copper pots and ornaments were recovered and preserved at the museum. Besides, scores of other artefacts were also preserved at the museum.
Its maintenance was under the state archeology department while the state culture department was supervising it. However, due to lack of proper upkeep, the museum remained in a state of neglect with many statues and artefacts gathering dust.
Surprisingly, there are no staffers, except for a night watchman, to take care of the museum.
In the absence of an information plaque near the museum, tourists visit the village fail to know of its location and existence, it was learnt.
The museum remains closed almost every day, as a result of which tourists coming from far-off places to catch a glimpse of the artefacts often return frustrated.
Taking note of these issues, former collector Rajesh Prabhakar Patil had sought permission of the director of the culture department in 2013 for handing over the maintenance and management of the museum to the district adminsiatartion.
After a long time, the director of culture department issued letters to the district culture officers of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar June 30, 2017.
Mayurbhanj district culture officer Tanuja Sirka confirmed this. The culture director has sought a detailed report about the maintenance and electrification of the museum, Sirka said. PNN
