Angul: Why has coal earned the moniker ‘Black Diamond’? How does coal formation take place? How coal deposits under earth is ascertained? Is coal mining without explosion possible? If you wish to learn the answers to these and more pertaining to coal, fret not. Angul town is going to have a museum in the name of ‘Black Diamond’ which will be the first-of-its-kind museum in the country. Once the museum comes up, it will have A to Z information about coal.
While the foundation for the museum is to be laid this year, the construction will complete in the next one and a half years.
The proposed ‘Black Diamond’ museum is coming up on a piece of land measuring 3.5 acres, at a budget outlay of Rs25 crore. The entire amount will be borne by the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL).
Assam has a similar museum built by Coal India Limited. But it is not fully digitized. But, the one coming up here is going to be fully digitized. It will be a three-storied building.
So it stands to reason that the state-of-the-art museum will be the first-of-its-kind not only in the state but also in the country.
It is learnt that the museum will house the equipment once used to mine coals. Visitors will get a chance to learn everything starting from discovery to the usage of coal. The museum will also have an international library where a visitor can have the opportunity to read books written by renowned national and international authors. Just a single click will present them a window of opportunity to learn many a thing.
Students, academicians, historians, researchers in the district are very enthusiastic about the proposed museum, referring it to be a milestone in the fields of education and research.
The district administration informs that the museum will jointly be constructed by the Navaratna company and a national level company. Earlier, three locations were identified and one of them has been selected. The displaced people will don’t have to pay fees to gain entry into the museum whereas a certain amount will be collected from other visitors. The fee amount will be decided once the facility is ready.
When contacted, Angul collector Siddharth Shankar Swain informed that the blueprint for the coal museum and the library have already been finalised. “Once completed, the museum will be a cynosure of all eyes,” he added.
PNN