The capital city would house a National Museum of History of Freedom Struggle, a numismatic museum and a modern scientific art gallery, Governor H.R. Bhardwaj said here on Thursday in his address to the State Assembly.
The government would focus on digitisation of records in archival repositories and on the establishment of heritage centres and conservation of monuments. A memorial to commemorate the State Congress Conference, which triggered the freedom movement in Travancore, would be constructed at Vattiyoorkkavu, the Governor said.
A scientific art gallery would be set up by the Museum and Zoo Department in the coming year. The Kerala Lalithakala Academy would institute a memorial for renowned painter Raja Ravi Varma at Kilimanoor.
One of the ongoing digitisation projects of the State Archives Department — the Mathilakom project — would be completed. (The digitisation programme includes transliteration and translation of ancient scripts on palm leaves on the history of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple).
A signature archives museum to display the writings and signatures of eminent personalities would be set up, he said.
People of the city could also look forward to a festival complex with modern facilities. The government would also set up a film city and an amusement park on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis in the city, Mr. Bhardwaj said.
Going green
He added that the State government would construct multi-storeyed parking facilities in all major cities of the State. A green building policy would be formulated to promote eco-friendly constructions. The Public Works Department would construct buildings based on this policy, the Governor said.
Mr. Bhardwaj said the construction of the coastal highway from Ponnani to Vengalam would be taken up next year and steps would be taken for the time-bound implementation of the hill highway project.
The modern traffic surveillance programme under implementation in Thiruvananthapuram would be extended to other cities in the State.
New Sub-Regional Transport Officers would be set up in all taluks. The enforcement wing of the Motor Vehicles Department would be strengthened with 17 new squads. Computerised Vehicle Testing Station and Driver Testing Track System would be set up in three more districts and retention yards would come up in all districts for seized vehicles.
On the water transport front, ticket-vending machines would be introduced in all boats. Two double-decker passenger-cum-tourist boats would be operated. A new slipway-cum-workshop at Payyannur to cater to the Malabar region was also being worked out, he added.
