Renovation of Sreepadam Palace, in the Fort heritage zone here, is expected to be completed in the next few months.
The renovation is being undertaken as part of a project to set up a District Heritage Museum on the premises.
The ₹62-lakh renovation project is being taken up directly by the Department of Archaeology. Roof tiles of the palace have been replaced to prevent seepage of water. Work on replacing the floor tiles with terracota tiles is set to get under way.
Spruced up
The palace pillars have been spruced up as part of the project. Wooden steps leading to the first floor will be reset to correct the slope that has been caused over time. Wooden windows which lack slats that can be tilted open and shut have been fitted with new functional slats.
The high compound walls of the premises that were not a part of the original structure will be removed, a department official said.
As part of plans to make the premises barrier-free, special toilets for the differently abled will be set up. Ramps will also come up later. A stage on the premises will be shifted to a better location.
The restoration of the 250-year-old naalukettu on the premises has been completed by the Keralam – Museum of History and Heritage, the nodal agency for all museums in the State. Though structural conservation is over, premises development and setting up of display objects are yet to be completed. The Sreepadam pond, behind the main palace building, had been cleaned of waste and its sidewalls strengthened, but algae has made a comeback and this would necessitate more cleaning before the museum can be opened to the public.
Plans were on to to instal a filtration unit there as part of the museum project, the official said. A large portion of the pond had been filled to construct the palace, department officials said.
Expression of interest has been called up for setting up a display system that is of international standards for the heritage museum project as per the decision of the expert committee for museums led by Velayudhan Nair, former Professor and Head, National Museum Institute. Since the heritage museums will showcase the history, culture, and traditions of the district concerned, the displays too will be novel, the official said.
Library
The palace also houses a library with a number of rare books. The library, a numismatics study centre, documents from the Archives department, some archaeological artefacts will be part of the heritage museum project.
