Government Museum in Coimbatore to be shifted from Nehru Stadium complex to Semmozhi Poonga

Artefacts from the Government Museum in Coimbatore, located at the Nehru Stadium commercial complex, are set to find a new home at Semmozhi Poonga.

K.A. Murugavel, nodal officer for the relocation, who earlier served as curator of the museum, said the museum is being moved to the newly-built Semmozhi Poonga as it will align with the park’s purpose. The current building has no scope for expansion and has recorded low footfall, with visitor numbers declining over the last five years. A hall measuring about 4,000 sq. ft. in the park’s ticketing complex is allotted for the museum. “Work on interiors, including display cases, pedestals, lighting and descriptive labels, will begin within a week,” he added.

The district museum, established in 1990 by the Department of Museums, has moved locations four times since its inception and is functioning from its current rented premises since May 2009.

“It is the only multi-disciplinary museum in Coimbatore, covering subjects such as geology, botany, history and art. It holds around 1,500 artefacts, of which about 900 are on display, while the remaining are in the reserve collection. Work has begun to clean and prepare both, the displayed and reserve collections for the move,” said K. Devi Priya, curator of the museum.

Mr. Murugavel added that the oldest artefacts date back to the eighth century. Among these are a three-tier hero stone, Pattanam stone inscriptions, and a burial urn believed to be about 2,000 years old. All were recovered from sites within the district.

According to Mr. Murugavel, the last artefact added to the museum was a metal icon recovered from a farmland in Perur in 2021. Relocating the displayed artefacts to Semmozhi Poonga may help the museum reach a wider audience, including younger visitors who are unaware of its presence, he said.

The relocation work, with an allocation of ₹1 crore, is expected to be completed within this year.