THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Robbers enter the Napier Museum and steal its invaluable artifacts. This a scene from the 1988 film ‘Manu Uncle’. But this can happen any day at the Museum. The security provided to an important centre like Napier Museum is insufficient. There are just four policemen, two during daytime and two at night, to guard the rich and rare collections. And to guard the Museum, they have been given nothing but a ‘lathi’. The Directorate of Museums and Zoos had written a letter demanding additional security to the Museum last year. However, the Government has not yet taken any action on the issue. A senior official of the Directorate said that the current security was inadequate. “We have written to the Government. The Government must either provide additional security or modern facilities for better security,” he added. Currently, the visitors are allowed to bring their bags into the Museum. “These all point to the lacunae in the system,” he said. Meanwhile, the Museum modernisation programme is yet to take off. The ambitious project aims to arrange better arrangement of the artifacts. Each artifact will be placed on a pedestal and in a glass cube so that visitors can get a better view from all sides. The modernisation plan also envisages a state-of-the-art security system to protect the belongings. Currently, visitors are allowed only till 4.30 pm. The 138-year-old Museum has a good number of visitors every day. The number goes up during holidays. The Museum has over 700 artifacts. Some even belonging to the 7th century AD. It displays bronze idols, ancient ornaments, archeological and historical artifacts, a temple chariot and ivory carvings. It also houses a bronze statue of Lord Vishnu, a wooden sculpture of Narasimha and 14th century Vijayanagar bronze deities.
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