Adil Shah palace crowded, 18th century artefacts left on road

Panaji: The Goa state museum with its 10,000-odd artefacts has moved to the riverfront address at the Adil Shah palace (the Old Secretariat building), but the problems of ensuring proper display for the historical treasures in its possession continues to plague the institution with some of the antique spilling out onto the lawns outside the building.

In fact, some marine treasures like antique cast-iron anchors negligently and unaesthetically dumped on the lawns outside the Adil Shah palace have caught citizens and passersby by surprise.

The previous museum building at EDC Patto Plaza had not only developed cracks, but also lacked sufficient space to display all the artefacts since the museum was set up in the 1990s, forcing the authorities to stow away a sizeable chunk of the exhibits.

The cast-iron anchors, speculated to date back to the 18th century, were earlier kept on the lawns of the previous premises under round-the-clock security. But now they have been dumped in the open — vulnerable to scrap collectors, if not antiques' thieves.

"Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) had surrendered the anchors to us years ago, but not registered them. We're helpless due to lack of space in the Adil Shah palace and the anchors are too heavy and large to move," a museum official said. However, MPT sources failed to trace any information on the origins of the anchors.

Artefacts at the museum are listed in the accession registry and given a unique identification number, thus making it mandatory for museum officials to take care of them. While all the 10,000-odd artefacts on display are duly registered, the same is not true for the anchors as the MPT had not provided information about them. Owing to this, museum officials said they are not mandated to protect the anchors that are merely on display.

Tourists waiting for cruise rides near Adil Shah palace were seen perching atop the exhibits, and the only surveillance arrangement noticed at the spot was a security guard who mans the area.

"This is more negligent than dumping the anchors besides the building," said history expert Sanjeev Sardesai. Speculating on the origins of the anchors, he said, "Gujaratis, Greeks and Africans used to visit Goa besides Portuguese ships that often traveled to-and-from here. So it is difficult to determine whose ship these anchors possibly belong to, yet, it is a heritage artefact."

Thomas Antonio Da Costa, an experienced electro-technical officer aboard ships, said, "These certainly are very old anchors that had to be hauled up by ropes. Museum authorities must take care of these by coating them with marine paint. Leaving them out in the open without doing so can make themsusceptible to rusting."

The Old Secretariat building is a landlocked construction with busy roads on either side that see a high traffic density daily, baring the anchors to dust and pollution. Besides, the building faces the Mandovi river and is constantly exposed to its salinity and moisture.

"These anchors are an important landmark of Goan history and a memoir of Goa-Portugal trade relations. They should be properly taken care of and cannot be displayed casually," said Prajal Sakhardande of Goa Heritage Action Group.