An excavation museum was built on an area of 31,000 square feet at Keeladi at a cost of ₹18.43 crore to display the antiquities unearthed at the site.
Tourism development projects at Keeladi in Sivaganga district, worth ₹34.97 lakh, have reportedly been put on hold, even though the site has been selected as a top national heritage village.The 11th phase of excavation is currently under way in Keeladi near Thiruppuvanam. During the earlier excavation it was discovered that a 2,600-year-old urban civilization of Tamils existed there.An excavation museum in the traditional Chettinad architectural style was built on an area of 31,000 square feet at a cost of ₹18.43 crore to enable the public to view the antiquities discovered in Keeladi.The Tamil Nadu government also converted the excavation site into an open-air museum at a cost of ₹24.30 crore. The site now attracts a diverse crowd, drawing not only Tamils from around the world but also domestic and international tourists. On an average, more than 500 people visit Keeladi every day.In this situation, the Union Ministry of Tourism selected Keeladi as a top heritage tourism village at the national level in 2024.Following this, the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department announced that under the tourism development project works, including boat rides in Kondhagai tank and establishment of a cultural centre, would be carried out in Keeladi at a cost of ₹34.97 lakh, said sources.In connection with this, the then Tourism Minister R. Rajendran and a team of tourism experts inspected the site in 2025. However, complaints arose that the tourism development works had not commenced.When inquired about it, Tourism Department officials said the government land near the Keeladi excavation museum was classified as grazing land. Hence, there was a delay in kick-starting the works, they added. Published - July 01, 2026 08:42 pm IST
