South Gujarat museums hit by staff crunch

Three museums in Bardoli, Surat district, in Dharampur, Valsad district, and in Saputara, Dangs district, are affected by staff crunch, improper maintenance and utter neglect. All three have rich artefacts and objects related to Gujarat’s history and culture.

“There is no technical person at these museums,” said RR Patel, head of the Bardoli museum. Patel, also in-charge of the Dharampur museum, added that due to the staff crunch, four of its departments were closed to visitors now.

Since a majority of the permanent staff has retired, peons, safai-kamdars, helpers and assistants have been hired on daily-wage basis to carry on the work. There is only one permanent clerk to handle the affairs of these three museums. And, as there has been no recruitment in the last 10 years, nearly 60% posts have been lying vacant. “Moreover, buildings housing Dharampur and Saputara museums are dilapidated. Due to the absence of a technical person, it is impossible to carry out repair work,” said Vasant Chaudhry, an employee of Dharampur museum.