Tourists and history fanatics will have to wait for some more months to visit the National Museum (Ta Dzong) in Paro. This is because without lighting experts and suitable electrical lighting materials in the country, the conservation works have been delayed by a year.
Until the lighting works are complete, the museum will remain closed. Museum conservators said, the kind of light bulbs needed and way of installing them are entirely different from fixing electrical lights in ordinary buildings. “Lighting has to use fixtures, modules, and sensors, and these are not available in hardware shops in the country. So the lighting equipment has to be imported from India,” said Namgay Dorji, Project Manager of Ta Dzong Conservation Project.
The museum’s lightings are designed to preserve the exhibits from UV rays, heat, and other damages from light. Electrification works are expected to be complete before annual Paro Tshechu in March this year. The main structure of the Ta Dzong has been restored before December, 2016.
A temporary museum has been arranged a few metres above the main museum for visitors. But, only 15 per cent of the artifacts are being showcased while thousand others are preserved in a store room. Keeping that in mind, the museum staff have reduced entry fees which affected the revenue. “We reduced the fee this time. For those who paid Nu 200 earlier, now pay Nu 150 and for visitors of SAARC countries, we charge only Nu 25. This has affected the revenue,” said Singye Samdrup, Deputy Chief Curator of the National Museum.
Restoration works of the museum were initiated after it suffered severe damage by an earthquake in 2011. Perched above the Paro Rinpung Dzong, the National Museum of Bhutan was built in 1649 and houses more than thousands of spiritual artifacts, legacies of regents and kings, and contemporary arts.
