Tamil Nadu government to help Danish embassy digitise archives

CHENNAI: The Ambassador of Denmark, Peter Taksoe-Jensen, who was in the city on Wednesday to formally appoint the new Honorary Consul General of Denmark for South India, said that the Danish Embassy would be working with the state government to digitise archival records of Denmark currently present in Tamil Nadu.

Vijay Sankar,  Deputy Chairman of Sanmar Group, was presented with official credentials from the Queen of Denmark by the Ambassador. Succeeding his father who was the Honorary Consul for South India for 28 years, Sankar will be looking after the consular activities across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and  Puducherry.  

The embassy along with its National Archives Department is planning to digitise archival records consisting of Danish literature, land acquisition bills and other documents. “Archives which can fill up to 70 metres of space are here in Tamil Nadu. But they are in very poor conditions. To preserve such documents rich in national heritage we are looking for private enterprises which will fund this restoration project,” said Taksoe-Jensen.

Their next main focus is to develop the coastal town of Tranquebar or Tharagambadi in Nagapattinam district with the support of the state government. “The TN government spent close to `4.5 crore last year to renovate the museum in Tranquebar. Now the tourist footfall at the museum has increased threefold. Next we plan to add lighting and sound effects to display the artefacts in a better fashion,” said K Pandiarajan, Minister for Education and Tamil Literature, who was present at the event.