BHUBANESWAR: The State Museum is likely to get generators installed on its premises this year. A long-standing demand of the authorities concerned, the State Museum does not have a generator even though 54 years have passed since its inception. In 18 galleries, the Museum houses over 56,000 antiques, including some of the most stunning archaeological sculptures, armours and ancient manuscripts among other historical objects. In the absence of generators, visitors face difficulty in moving around the galleries during unscheduled power cuts. A similar situation was witnessed on Sunday morning when visitors complained of lack of electricity in the Museum. “Whenever we know about power cut timings, the visitors are informed about it at the ticket counter itself. But when there are unscheduled power cuts, we cannot do much,” said Manjushri Samantray, the Superintendent in-charge of the Museum. The absence of a generator also puts at risk antiques with over a lakh people visiting the place in a month. Samantray said she had earlier written to the Central Supply Utility Service Authority to install a new transformer that can take the actual power load of the State Museum. The Museum has three phases of power supply.She said the authorities concerned in the Culture Department have been informed about the problem. Sources in the Culture Department said budgetary allocation had been made this year for installation of three generators in the museum. A senior official of the department said funds have been earmarked and if tenders are floated in time, the generators may be installed by July-end. This apart, measures are also being taken to address other problems in the museum including staff shortage, he added.With vacancies for various posts remaining unfilled, the officials are grappling with additional charges and work load. Sources said about 50 per cent of posts are vacant. While there are around 45 persons permanently on the rolls, 12 to 15 persons have been hired on contract.
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