Two decade wait ends, Khammam Science Museum to be ready by June

The science museum was sanctioned in 2003-04 with a budget of Rs.10 lakh under the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) but did not materialise due to multiple reasons, primarily a suitable location.

Khammam: Ending a wait that spanned two decades, Khammam can soon boast of a District Science Museum and District Science Centre as officials are busy making arrangements for setting up the museum in the city.

The science museum was sanctioned in 2003-04 with a budget of Rs.10 lakh under the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) but did not materialise due to multiple reasons, primarily a suitable location.

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The wait has ended and finally, the museum is coming up at the old DEO office at Trunk Road in Khammam at a cost of Rs.54 lakh. The Education Department has made an agreement with BM Birla Science Museum in Hyderabad to design and fabricate science exhibits.

Rs 40 lakh is spent on exhibits.Speaking to Telangana Today, the District Science Officer D Jagadeeshwar informed that an advance payment of Rs 12 lakh has been made to BM Birla Science Museum and the fabrication of science exhibits is underway. The museum is expected to be ready by June.

In all, 26 exhibits related to science, biology, physics, mathematics and fun items would be displayed initially at the museum. A firm Nuevosol Energy Private Limited of Hyderabad came forward to donate Rs 20 lakh to the museum as part of its CSR initiative and the amount could help to procure some more exhibits, he noted.The old DEO office has been renovated spending Rs 16.70 lakh and the civil works have been completed. The science museum would be a great asset for the students as well as the common public in erstwhile Khammam district.

The museum would play an important role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge among the student community as well as for the popularisation of science. Exhibits in the museum would make learning come alive, Jagadeeshwar stated.

It may be noted the science museum was sanctioned in 2003-04 with a budget of Rs 10 lakh under District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) but the work related to the museum could not move further.

Later in 2004 and 2005 Rs 10 lakh each was released. In 2014, the district administration revived efforts to set up the museum with an estimated cost of Rs 40 lakh and started looking for a suitable location. Teams were sent to study science museums in erstwhile Warangal, Eluru and West Godavari districts.

But the project hit a roadblock as the officials could not find and finalise a suitable land or a building to set up the museum. Things started moving after the district Collector VP Gautham allotted the old DEO building to the museum when the DEO office was shifted to IDOC.