Stone for tribal museum to be laid in Hyderabad today

Hyderabad: Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda and his Cabinet collegue and State G Kishan Reddy will jointly lay the foundation for the ’ Museum at Abids on Monday. They will also inaugurate the tribal research institute (TRI) completed with 100 per cent Central funding of Rs 6.5 crore at Masab Tank.

The ground floor of the museum will have a digital interpretation zone, wall-mounted interactive map, information kiosk, wall-mounted interface with scroll facility, touch interface, VR player, QR code display in cell phone and statistics exhibit.

The first floor will have four galleries showcasing the Nirmal Ghat Fight and the Banyan tree of 1,000 nooses. It will contain documents and artefacts of Ramji Gond. The second floor will have exhibits of KumramBheem and other tribal freedom fighters like Birsa Munda and the Manyam Revolt.

The third floor focuses on particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) of Telangana, like the Chenchus, their arts, artefacts and traditions.

The tribal research institute is built on 0.3 acres. It will provide support to the State government-run Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute of Telangana (TCRTI) in conducting baseline surveys, ethnographic research, action research and evaluation studies on the impact of schemes being implemented for tribal communities. It will also support the study of history of tribes in Telangana, their culture, languages, arts, crafts, traditions and will focus on their conservation.

Kishan Reddy, who has been keen to ensure the establishment of the tribal museum and research institute since taking charge as Union minister, said, "finally, with the opening of the research centre and laying of foundation for the museum, the sacrifices made by tribals for Telangana's independence will get proper recognition. Research will be done to inform the world about their culture and traditions."

Telangana has 9.08 per cent tribal population as per the 2011 Census, with a rich diversity of indigenous populations, besides plain area dispersed tribes, particularly vulnerable communities.

For the museum, the Centre had initially sanctioned Rs.15 crore in 2019-20. The apex committee of the Centre in August this year accorded in-principle approval for an additional amount of Rs. 10 crore.

Against this backdrop, the State government has identified 0.75 acres in Abids to ensure footfall.

The department also conducted a soil-bearing capacity test and prepared DPR with designs and estimates for Rs. 34 crore.