What we do not save, we lose, and with it, a piece of what it means to be human.Over the last month, renovation has been taking place at the Egmore Government Museum at the cost of some of Tamil Nadu’s most prized idols and sculptures. Construction equipment is propped over and beside ancient temple pillars and idols. The antiques, many of which are more than a 1,000 years old, had been seized by the Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police, and then stored here.Earlier reports in The Hindu suggest that the Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu seized several thousand artefacts over the years including centuries-old stone sculptures and idols, carved stone pillars, intricately worked wooden pieces, temple cars, vahanas or ritual vehicles for gods, , among others were stored in a haphazard manner at the rear of the unit’s premises that is part of the CB-CID Economic Offences Wing at Guindy in Chennai back in 2019. The police claimed that the museum did not allocate space for these idols to be placed there. Subsequently though, these idols were placed inside the museum campus, with little concern or care for its storied heritage. This remains the status till date.
CHENNAI, TAMILNADU, 09/06/2026: For Metroplus: Idols, Some dating to the Hoysala and Chola Periods, lie completely neglected underthe harsh summersun at the Government Museum in Egmore. Picturedare idols acting as supporting objects to construction equipment .
