CM Nitish Kumar today inaugurated the newly constructed Ganga Gallery, Patli Gallery and Observation Room of Patna Museum by unveiling the plaque and cutting the ribbon. After the inauguration, the Chief Minister inspected the newly constructed building and took a close look at the exhibits put up there. During this, the Chief Minister said that the work of upgradation and expansion of Patna Museum is being done in a better way. This is an old museum. Many important archaeological and historical exhibits have been kept here, they should be maintained and better, so the building has been expanded. The museum has been expanded with an aim to showcase the collection better and develop facilities as per international standards. Ganga gallery, Patli gallery and observation house are well built. People will be able to come here and see the exhibits and they will get a lot of specific information. The Chief Minister inspected the entire premises of Patna Museum and gave necessary directions to the officials.
It is worth mentioning that Patna Museum is situated in a historical city of Patna of India which is also known by the name of Jadugar by the locals. This museum depicts the cultural history of the state of Bihar. It was first established in the year 1915 in the Commissioner ‘s Bungalow to display the historical collections. It was later shifted to the Patna High Court building. Keeping in view the increasing collection a proposal was passed to construct a new building for the museum. Rai Bahadur Vishnuswaroop designed this building in the Indo-Saracenic style, which is a blend of Rajputana and Mughal architecture. The new gaon was completed in 1928 and opened to the public in 1929. Its rear section was extended in 1960.
Patna museum has a collection of excellent art works of India and our priceless heritage. Earlier it had about 60,000 artefacts, out of which 28,470 artefacts were transferred to the newly built Bihar Museum, as a result of which the Bihar Museum is counted among the finest museums in the world. At present in the Patna Museum the collection of idols related to ancient history, weapons, crafts, coins, oil paintings, miniature paintings, Patna pen style, Daniel prints, Rahul Sankrityayan, Keejan art, natural history and the first president of independent India Dr. Rajendra Prasad can be seen. Apart from this, the museum has also collected and preserved about 10,000 antiquities obtained from various archaeological sites of Bihar in the last several years.
No. Bau.342 27.07.2025 In the year 2017, the Government of Bihar under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar conceived the expansion and upgradation of Old Patna Museum. It is an ambitious project of the Government of Bihar, being implemented by the Department of Art, Culture and Youth and Building Construction. The new building of this museum has been constructed keeping in mind the old architectural style. The newly constructed building consists of three blocks which are interconnected.
At the entrance of its southern block, there is a cafeteria, reception, function hall, temporary exhibition area and an auditorium with a seating capacity of 105. The North Block houses the administrative block, which includes the museum office, storerooms for the vast collection of the Patna Museum, conservation laboratory and equipment room. The third block with state-of-the-art facility has the Ganga and Patli Galleries displayed in an area of 10,000 square feet, which is the main attraction of the museum.
Ganga Dirdha signifies the importance of river Ganga since its origin. The competition begins with a projection show on the importance of Ganga in India. This gallery depicts the 376 km long journey of Ganga from Karush to Anga Kshetra and showcases the cultural diversity of Bihar encompassing 7 cultural regions.
Various replicas such as Kesariya Stupa and Ram Rekha Ghat are on display in this gallery to showcase the tangible and intangible heritage. Apart from these, different types of dance forms like Jhijhiya, Jat Jatin, Bidesia and Sohar are depicted through figures and paintings and different types of paintings like Manjusha, Madhubani and Tikuli are also displayed. It also includes artefacts from important archaeological sites like Chirand and Pand. The main attraction of this gallery is a 53 feet long fossil tree which is 200 million years old.
Patli Dirdha is the second part of the museum, which shows the origin and development of the Magadha region. From here the visitor enters an immersive environment that takes him on a complete journey of the glorious Magadha kingdom starting from Rajgir. Visitors get acquainted with the cyclopean wall of Rajgir, the capital of the Haryaka dynasty.
The next section presents a projection of Panini’s Ashtadhyayi, a pictorial representation of scholars such as Vararuchi and Katyayana. The last part shows Pataliputra in its full glory during the Maurya period. In it are displayed archaeological remains, models of the whole city and with quotes from travelers such as Megasthenes and Fahyan. The special attraction of this part is the AI inspired holographic projection of Chanakya which gives the visitor the experience of asking any question from any aspect of economics or life and getting a response from them.
The Ganga and Pataliputra Gallery ends with the display of the eternal festival of Bihar i.e. Chhath with the installation of flowing Ganga water.
Two idol gardens based on Buddhism and Hinduism have been constructed. In the Buddhist section, the statues of the Tathagata Buddha in various postures and the Manauti Stupa in the centre, the Vajrayana and the Deities are depicted all around. The Hindu category is represented in 5 sub-categories Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta, Surya and other gods and goddesses.
The second phase of the project involves conservation work and galleries of the old Patna Museum building. The story of the exhibits displayed in the old museum building begins with the political, social and economic changes that took place after the Battle of Buxar in 1764, which is considered a turning point in Indian history. Under this, the old building has been divided into 9 galleries (in two floors) Weapons and Armoury Gallery, Natural History Gallery, Children’s Gallery, Narrative Art, in which the common life and royal life of Bihar will be depicted through collections. Along with this, art will be presented in the form of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Collection, Contemporary Art Gallery, Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Collection, Metal Art, Company Style, Stories of History.
With the completion of the first phase of building expansion, this museum project sets an important benchmark in the history of Patna.
After inaugurating the newly constructed building of the Patna Museum, the Chief Minister visited the Bihar Museum and inspected various parts of the museum. During the inspection, CM Nitish inspected various exhibits.
The Chief Minister inspected the under-construction tunnel connecting Bihar Museum and Patna Museum and took stock of the progress of the work. He directed the officials to complete the construction work at the earliest. On the occasion, Director General of Bihar Museum Anjani Kumar Singh briefed the Chief Minister about the arrangements for entry into the Bihar Museum from the tunnel, parking, other facilities available to the tourists etc.
During the inspection,CM Nitish directed the officials to complete the construction of the tunnel soon so that the visitors of Bihar Museum and Patna Museum can easily visit the exhibits from one place to another. He said that the tunnel should be constructed in a better way so that tourists can easily travel to Patna Museum and Bihar Museum on foot along with electric vehicles. Bihar museum has been made of international level. A large number of tourists keep on coming to Patna Museum and Bihar Museum.
The number of tourists will increase further with the completion of the tunnel work between Patna Museum and Bihar Museum. Amenities include parking and other amenities. He said that the construction work of the upper bridge to be built on that side of Nehru Path from near this under-construction tunnel should be started soon. Along with this, a park should also be constructed on that side of Nehru Path so that tourists coming here can enjoy it.
Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Samrat Chaudhary, Water Resources Minister Mr. Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Building Construction Minister Mr. Jayant Raj, Deputy Speaker of Bihar Vidhan Sabha Mr. Narendra Narayan Yadav, Director General of Bihar Museum Mr. Anjani Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. Deepak Kumar, Development Commissioner Mr. Pratyaya Amrit, Secretary to Chief Minister cum Secretary Building Construction Mr. Kumar Ravi, Secretary Art, Culture and Youth Mr. Pranav Kumar, Commissioner Patna Division Dr. Chandrashekhar Singh, Director Directorate of Museums and Archaeology Mrs. Rachna Patil, Patna District Magistrate Dr. Tyagraj S.M., Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Kartikey K. Sharma, Secretary Bihar State Civil Council Mr. Arvind Kumar and other public representatives and senior officers.