Ten museums under the control of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the country including the Fort Museum here will be taken up for upgradation this year.

“These museums will have more facilities. Work at Chennai Fort Museum and Chandragiri museum located near Tirupati will be taken up during the second phase,” says Dr Urmila Sant, director of ASI (Antiquity, exhibition and museum), Delhi.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on the sidelines of releasing a brochure in Hindi on the Fort Museum here on Tuesday evening, she said the Deeg museum in Rajasthan, Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh), Nalanda (Bihar) and Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) were among the other museums identified for up-gradation.

“As part of ASI’s sesquicentennial celebrations, we have planned to organise thematic exhibitions from the second week of February in Delhi. The regional offices, too, will have separate exhibitions highlighting the activities of various branches of ASI besides showcasing rare artifacts in the museums,” she said after releasing the Hindi brochure on Chennai Fort Museum in the presence of Ms K. Moortheeswari, deputy superintending archaeologist, museum branch, southern region, and Ms Neeti Anil Kumar, assistant archaeologist, ASI, here.

The exhibitions will be categorised as: Heritage through philately, paintings and sculptures, digging up past – excavations and explorations, treasures of site (museums) and monumental glory of India (on world heritage monuments).

Also, for the first time, the ASI would display artifacts confiscated from smugglers, at a special exhibition in Delhi. It has been planned to bring out a bilingual catalogue (in English and Hindi) on the rare objet d’art available at the ASI’s 44 site museums across the country.