The Visakha Heritage Museum has a treasure trove of artefacts, old photographs and a host of other items that provide an insight into the history of Visakhapatnam during the last few centuries. This was the impression of Pragati Chouhan, a tourist from Mumbai, who was seen going round the museum with a camera hanging from her neck, on Friday evening.
“The museum has excellent artefacts but there seems to be hardly any publicity about the museum. I walked up and down the Beach Road for about 45 minutes to locate the museum. I almost reached the place and when I asked someone for direction, they showed me the wrong place. Many locals seem to be unaware of the museum,” she said and felt that the museum authorities should take greater interest in its promotion.
“The strike (Samaikyandhra agitation) and non-availability of public transport has made it all the more difficult for people like me to explore new places of interest on a short holiday,” Ms. Pragati said.
Annual expenditure
Museum Curator M.N.A. Patrudu said that while the annual expenditure on maintenance of the museum was around Rs.12 lakh, the revenue was about half that amount. About 300 to 400 persons were visiting the museum on an average every day. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 12 noon to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
“The period between April and May is the slack season and between June and January is normally the peak season for the museum. The revenue of the museum increased from Rs.5,59,834 during 2011-12 to Rs.5,86,839 during 2012-13,” he said. Art shows and artist camps were being conducted by the museum not only to encourage budding artists by giving them space to showcase their works but also to give publicity to the museum, Mr. Patrudu said.
“A number of Bengali tourists will start coming from Dasara but the Samaikyandhra strike may have an impact on their movement,” he added.
