The minister inaugurates the renovated District Museum building in the Vellore Fort complex
Handlooms, Textiles and Khadi Minister M. Vijay Balaji along with PS Collector Leela Alex inspected the civic amenities in the renovated District Museum building. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Minister for Handlooms, Textiles and Khadi M. Vijay Balaji on Saturday inaugurated the restored District Museum building in the Vellore Fort complex.
Officials of the District Museum, which falls under the Commissionerate of Museums of the Ministry of Tourism and Archaeology, said that the existing museum building could only have eight galleries for the public since its inception in September 1985 due to lack of adequate space. “K. Saravanan, curator of the district museum, told The Hindu.
Along with Collector PS Leela Alex, Mr. Balaji also inspected the civic amenities at the new facility. The British-era building, spread over an area of about 600 square meters and restored at a cost of ₹ 2.5 crore, has 12 new galleries, including terracotta, inscriptions and stone sculptures. Among them was a separate gallery called Icons of Vellore where prominent personalities who were born or associated with Vellore were also exhibited.
Some of the icons are Lakshmanaswamy Ethiraj who is known for his educational institutions including Ethiraj College for Women in Chennai, INA member Govindammal and King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha who was the last king of Ceylon who died in Vellore.
The building also has a separate stamp gallery with more than 1000 stamps from different countries. A Jaina sculpture gallery and a separate gallery on the 1806 rebellion were also added to the restored building to attract more visitors.
Before the restored building, the district museum was crowded with visitors due to limited space. It had 3,261 collections dating back to prehistoric times. Many rare artifacts were stored in the open outside the main museum building due to lack of adequate space. On average, around 500 visitors visit the facility on weekends and holidays.
The restored Indo-Saracenic style building consists of beautiful arches and Madras roofing. The building once functioned as the official quarters of the British officers who were stationed inside the fort to guard the Mysore ruler, Hyder Ali and his warlord, Tipu Sultan’s family. These structures were built using traditional lime and mortar methods.
Published – 04 Jul 2026 23:12 IST