Their voices choked as they narrated what India lost

A look at the faces of the employees of the National Museum of Natural History was enough to describe how tragic the loss is to them. Started in 1972, National Museum of Natural History became fully functional in 1978 on the World Environment Day.

Vikas Rana, one of the educational assistants who catered to 2,000 plus students daily, explained how the losses incurred in the massive fire are an irreparable loss. He said: “Apart from the Sauropods, fossil exhibits of the Indian dinosaurs which became extinct thousand years back, which were kept in the gallery on the second floor, specimens of Asiatic cheetah, snow leopards, white lions and two vultures which became extinct were also preserved in the galleries of the three floors.”

Talking about the emotion attached with the fire that gutted the preservations, Dr B Venugopal, director of the National Museum of Natural History working for the past 12 years, told Millennium Post: “This is not just a loss of natural history. It is an emotional moment for us as we treated these preservations with much affection and care.”

Explaining how the NMNH was built, Venugopal said: “The multi-storey building was divided into six floors. While the ground floor worked as a reception, the first, second and third floors functioned as galleries. Featuring a discovery room and an activity room (designed for children), these rooms were assigned to keep specimens of animals, birds, plants, reptiles etc which could be touched by visitors.”

He further added: “Out of the exhibits, the Sauropods were a major attraction. Apart from the school picnics and educational tours, even young adults came to see the Sauropods. Such was the charm of these that after such a mishap, it will be extremely difficult to resurrect. The loss can be assessed by the higher authorities, however, what we as employees have lost cannot be described in words.”