Staff Reporter
Jowai, Mar. 09: An amount of Rs 30 lakh was sanctioned by the Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, for the Jaintia Hills District Museum at Jowai.
This was stated as per the Right to Information reply by the Directorate of Arts and Culture, Shillong, bearing No. DAC/ESTT/23/2006/37, dated Shillong November 10, 2009.
An amount of Rs 15 lakh was released by the VMH, Kolkata for gallery construction and another amount of Rs 15 lakh was sanctioned VMH for pedestrian entry and flooring among others.
The museum is constructed at the office building of the Jaintia Hills District Library, Mynthong, Jowai. The work for the gallery began on May 2007 and work on the pedestrian entry and flooring started on September 2008.

The size of the main gallery is 10.75 m × 7.35 m ×3.00m, painting gallery is 5.45 m ×7.35m × 3 m, lobby and office is 9.55m× 3.55 m and verandah back is 16.20m × 2.15m.
The construction for the gallery was completed on May 2008 and the pedestrian entry, and flooring was completed on April 22, 2009.
Interestingly, under point number six was mentioned: “Construction work completed and ready for opening.” However, till date the museum is yet to be opened.
“I wonder how the museum will look as the amount sanctioned for it is more than Rs 30 lakh. But it seems I will have to wait longer as till date, the museum is yet to be inaugurated,” said Ioosar kynjin, a youth from Jowai.
The work on the museum were assigned to R Dkhar, RK Furniture Works, Wahingdoh, Shillonga and construction of the museum’s galleries and to Roskil Pale, Ialong, Jowai for civil works.
In another reply to an RTI application by the Arts and Culture Department bearing No. DAC/ESTT/23/2006/39 and dated Shillong, November 25, 2009, the construction of the lobby and office, verandah, pedestrian entry and flooring is being supervised by the Chief
Engineer, PWD (B), Shillong and the painting gallery by the managing director MGCC Ltd, Shillong.
Some of the anthropological objects displayed in the Jowai Museum have been temporarily transferred from the Captain Williamson Sangma Museum reserved collections for public view as separate collections of locally available artifacts are yet to be collected and purchased.
The museum will also feature paintings and artifacts like drum beats (lino cut print), market place by Ibapynshongdor Mukhim and Root Bidge at War Jaintia among others, including wood carvings which will include Evil Has a Place by Pynshngain Langpen, and Towards Union by Banshemphang Lanong.
Regarding the delay of inauguration of the museum, the general secretary of the Jaintia Students Union, R Parein said “We would like the government to inaugurate the museum at the earliest so that the general public especially the students will benefit from it as they
will gain knowledge.”
It may be mentioned that the museum is the first of its kind in the district but the late inauguration has angered the public.