World’s largest museum on Harappan culture to be built in Rakhigarhi: Prahlad Patel

HISAR: Union minister of state for tourism and culture Prahlad Patel visited the ancient site of Rakhigarhi on Sunday and said all world-class facilities would be provided to bring the historical site on the world stage.
The world’s largest museum of Harappan culture will be built in Rakhigarhi, he said. Haryana minister of state for archaeological nuseum Anoop Dhanak, MP Brijendra Singh, Sikar MP Swami Sumedhanand Saraswati and deputy commissioner Priyanka Soni were also present.
Patel said after the proposal of allocating Rs 2,500 crore to tourism sector and Rs 3,150 crore to the ministry of culture in the Budget, the country’s heritage will be developed rapidly. He said as part of the Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation, there was a proposal for eight new museums and infrastructure of five major archaeological sites, including Rakhigarhi.
He said Rakhigarhi had changed the history of world for the second time after Dholavira of Gujarat. Therefore, he said, this area was important to the department of tourism and culture. Patel also interacted with locals and said decisions of the local people will be included in decisions taken to develop Rakhigarhi.
The Haryana government has already taken necessary steps to rehabilitate the people living in the main areas of the Rakhigarhi site, he said.
To increase employment opportunities for youth in the region, department will provide free guide training to youth and they will be established as tourism partners. Along with this, arrangements will be made by the ministry for learners of other languages, he said.
Patel said the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was that all historical and iconic sites of the country would be developed in such a way that their tourism potential brings change to neighbouring areas too. “That is why Rakhigarhi will be provided with worldclass facilities,” he said.
Dhanak said a meeting with the Union ministry of tourism and culture had been scheduled in Delhi next month to develop Rakhigarhi in a planned manner. In this meeting, various other topics will be discussed, including development of Rakhigarhi as a tourist area, he said.