Kakinada MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao and Department of Archaeology and Museum Assistant Director K. Timma Raju inspect a palm-leaf manuscript at the Andhra Sahitya Parishad Government Museum and Research Institute in Kakinada city on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
The much-awaited construction of the new building of the Andhra Sahitya Parishad Government Museum and Research Institute, Kakinada, is set to begin in early August with ₹5 crore released by the Ministry of Culture under the Museum Grant Scheme. The Ministry of Culture and the State government is set to provide ₹10 crore under the 80:20 funding pattern.
Kakinada MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao told The Hindu, on Tuesday; “The Ministry of Culture has released ₹5 crore to kick-start the construction of the new building of the museum. Tenders have been invited and work will commence in early August. This is one of the prominent projects pursued by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Kakinada district.”
The museum is home to nearly 5,000 palm-leaf manuscripts dating back to 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Of these, the chemical treatment of 500 manuscripts for preservation was completed in 2021. The manuscripts belong to the fields of Ayurveda, mathematics, astrology, Telugu and Sanskrit literature and classical music.
In the 1970s, the Andhra Sahitya Parishad, a literary organisation, handed over its collection of manuscripts to the museum for preservation. The museum is also preserving Buddhist pillars, sculptures, megalithic tools, copper and bronze plates and coins.
“The new building has been designed as a Ground-plus-four-floor structure. We are yet to finalise a building where the collection from the museum can be housed during the period of construction of the new building,” said Department of Archaeology and Museum Assistant Director K. Timma Raju.
Published – July 14, 2026 10:16 pm IST
