Re-inventing history: Museum planned at KRS Dam site

Statues of Nalwadi and Sir MV to be installed near entrance

Srirangapatna: Every monsoon season, the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam is invariably or rather inevitably in the focus because if it is full to the brim, there is water for South Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. If it is not full, panic grips the entire region as water crisis is imminent. 

Though the KRS holds such an important place in our lives, there is no permanent physical structure or a facility to learn about its history, the idea behind it and the brain who built the mammoth structure and also the people who sacrificed their happiness to fund the Dam construction for the larger good of the society. 

Over the years, there has been a demand for a museum on Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar who funded the project and Sir M. Visvesvaraya (MV), the Engineer-Extraordinaire who planned and executed the project. Realising the demand, the Karnataka Water Resources Department has plans to establish a museum near the main entrance of KRS. 

Also, the statues of Nalwadi and Visvesvaraya will be installed near the entrance of KRS gathering the attention of every visitor and the ground-breaking ceremony was held yesterday by Srirangapatna MLA Ravindra Sreekantaiah. The statues will be built at a cost of Rs. 8.5 crore. 

The mantaps with domes will be built with Doddaballapur stones and the statues will be built with white marble stone on the lines of the statues of Krishnaraja Wadiyar and Jayachamaraja Wadiyar that have been built in the heart of Mysuru City. 

The inside of the mantaps will have a width and length of 24×24 feet and will be 46 feet tall. The outer circumference of the mantaps will have a width and length of 67X67 feet. The statues per se will be 8-feet high and will stand on 3-feet pedestals. 

A Mysuru-based contractor has been given the tender to complete the project in 12 to 18 months, an officer said. The mantaps will have content on the life, achievements and contribution of both personalities, the officer added.

Apart from Sir M. Visvesvaraya, who is the leading figure in building the Dam, the proposed museum will feature other people who had contributed to build the massive structure — like Diwan Sir Mirza Ismail who had also planned and built the Brindavan Gardens. The museum will enhance visitors’ knowledge on the KRS reservoir and Brindavan Gardens. 

The museum will narrate stories on how Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar mortgaged the Mysore royal family’s ornaments to complete the construction of KRS. The museum will contain files, photocopies of important documents, photographs of the construction process etc. 

It will also have photographs of famous personalities who visited KRS and of members of the erstwhile royal family. The museum will contain audio and visual content for a better viewer experience, officials added.