Mysore/Mysuru: The proposal to shift the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage from the existing premises at Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) Complex in Doddakere Maidan, to the Old DC Office on K.R. Boulevard is before the State Government and the Government will take a decision.

 Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Commissioner of Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage A. Devaraju said that the proposal has been sent to the Government and two letters have been written in this regard.

 “When T. Venkatesh was the Heritage Commissioner, he wrote to the Revenue Department Chief Secretary through the Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism Department, seeking permission to shift the Heritage Department to Old DC Office once it moves to the new location at Siddarthanagar. Recently, I too have written a similar letter to the Government stressing on the need for the Department to have a bigger and spacious campus of its own in a place like Mysuru where there are hundreds of heritage buildings and where heritage relics are abundantly available,” Devaraju said.

 If the Government hands over the Old DC Office to the Heritage Department, efforts will be made to set up a state-of-the-art heritage museum and maintain the building well.

“Moreover, a museum in the heart of the city will also be a piece of attraction for the tourists where the history, art, culture, archaeology, inscriptions, sculptures, coins and literature can be kept on display,” the Heritage Commissioner Devaraju added.