New Delhi, Dec 21 - Vice President Hamid Ansari will Sunday lay the foundation stone of the country's fourth Regional Museum of Natural History (RMNH) in Rajasthan.To be named Rajiv Gandhi Regional Museum of Natural History, it will be an attempt to give a fair play to the biological diversity of the country, especially of the desert state.The ministry of environment and forests has acquired 7.42 acres of land to set up the museum in Ramsinghpura in Sawai Madhopur district, better known as the land of tigers.The museum will develop exhibits depicting flora, fauna and geology of the region and ecological relationship among plants and animals and their evolutionary patterns.'This has been conceived to be a non-formal centre for environment education and creation of public awareness on conservation of nature and natural resources,' said an official of the environment ministry.'It would provide an understanding of the diversity of life on the earth, the factors responsible for their well-being, man's dependence upon nature and the necessity to maintain our ecological heritage free from damage and destruction to ensure sustainable development with special emphasis on the western arid region of India,' the official added.The museum will have a foyer hall to depict natural history of the region with Aravalli and Satpura mountain ranges and inhabitant flora and fauna.Currently India has three regional museums of natural history at Mysore (Karnataka), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and Bhubaneswar (Orissa).The ministry believes the museum would develop appropriate educational programmes for children, adults and family groups to create environmental awareness and statewide programmes for environmental education through activities at the district level.
(c) Indo-Asian News Service
