Work on establishing the police museum at the Hamilton Club has gained pace, as city police focus their efforts on collecting age-old artefacts to be displayed at the museum. Police have written to their colleagues and antique collectors, looking for rare and unique objects pertaining to the police department that could be displayed at the museum. Just recently, city police received a tank that was used by the British, from the Trichy police station.
The Hamilton Club, which was once a recreational hangout for police during the British era, is in the midst of being converted to a police museum. City police commissioner A Amalraj said that work would be completed next month. "We plan to display antique weapons used by the British and Tamil Nadu police department," he said.
Although the building is being revamped, the police department is keen to preserve its heritage. "We want to give visitors a lesson on the antique and advanced weapons used by the police department over time," said Amalraj. According to police sources, the police department has been trying to get old weapons used during the British Era and further back in time. These weapons will be displayed for the public.
Hamilton Club building had been abandoned more than 12 years ago. The police department had allotted more than Rs 50 lakh to preserve its heritage. A team of artisans led by K Rajendran, 51, from Puthampur village in Pudukkottai district, are engaged the renovation work. This team has experience doing renovation work for the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
As of now, the building's roof work is completed. The artisans used traditional methods to retain the original look of the building. "We did not use cement for the building. We used river sand and mixed it with lime, palm jaggery and kadukkai (terminalia chebula). The mixture is allowed to settle for 20 days after which it is ready for use," said Rajendran.
The old roof tiles were removed from the building. The tiles were supplied for the building from Basel Mission in Calicut, Kerala in 1865. "We have used new tiles for the renovation of the roof. The building will be handed over to the department by the end of June," said Rajendran.
The police department has spent more than 20lakh for the renovation of the 18 rooms, which would be handed over to cops.
The Hamilton Club, which was once a recreational hangout for police during the British era, is in the midst of being converted to a police museum. City police commissioner A Amalraj said that work would be completed next month. "We plan to display antique weapons used by the British and Tamil Nadu police department," he said.
Although the building is being revamped, the police department is keen to preserve its heritage. "We want to give visitors a lesson on the antique and advanced weapons used by the police department over time," said Amalraj. According to police sources, the police department has been trying to get old weapons used during the British Era and further back in time. These weapons will be displayed for the public.
Hamilton Club building had been abandoned more than 12 years ago. The police department had allotted more than Rs 50 lakh to preserve its heritage. A team of artisans led by K Rajendran, 51, from Puthampur village in Pudukkottai district, are engaged the renovation work. This team has experience doing renovation work for the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
As of now, the building's roof work is completed. The artisans used traditional methods to retain the original look of the building. "We did not use cement for the building. We used river sand and mixed it with lime, palm jaggery and kadukkai (terminalia chebula). The mixture is allowed to settle for 20 days after which it is ready for use," said Rajendran.
The old roof tiles were removed from the building. The tiles were supplied for the building from Basel Mission in Calicut, Kerala in 1865. "We have used new tiles for the renovation of the roof. The building will be handed over to the department by the end of June," said Rajendran.
The police department has spent more than 20lakh for the renovation of the 18 rooms, which would be handed over to cops.