How an institution is born and history is made can be seen from the rapid progress made by the CBEC Governing Body on the National Customs & Excise Museum in the ancient Blue Building at Goa.

Though it may appear as a distant dream to many but it is very soon going to be a real reality for those who call themselves optimists. So, before anything of vintage nature is destroyed (no matter whether it is an old and tattered cap of British Raj or Portuguese regime) either by the Customs or Central Excise or any other entity closely associated with the revenue department, one must think twice before doing it.

Several task forces have been set up headed by chief commissioners to visit and quickly identify all such items which can be housed in the various galleries recently identified by the governing body at a meeting at Goa.

So, the next time (at least a year later ) when you go to Goa either on an official trip or as an ordinary Indian, don't forget to visit this museum where you can see Lord Wavell's launch M V Vigilant which would be floating in Mandovi River in front of the museum. This would be transported from Kolkata to Goa.

Similarly, Al-Redha would be shipped to Goa from Port Blair. If you are an auto buff you may see the vintage car La Salle which is at present kept in Kolkata Custom House.

If you are a young customs officer and have heard the folklore about how the Indian customs outsmarted the smart smuggling syndicates, then don't forget to visit the 'Battle of Wits Section'. This is going to house interesting seizure cases which are going to be of ingenuity and dramatic in nature.

This will depict how ingenuous smugglers were beaten by the roving eyes of the custom officers. These depictions would be in the forms of either a photograph of re-enacted situations or a tableau.

Some interesting exhibits with equally interesting cavity to conceal gold and other precious items would be put on display.

Interestingly, there would also be a Uniform & Badges Gallery where old uniforms, caps, badges and medals of British, Portuguese, Dutch and French era would be put on display. If it is not available, it would be stitched by copying the photographs and sketches

In the Heritage Section of the Seizure Gallery, plastic cast replicas of idols seized and gifted to other Museums would be made. In the Wildlife Section, confiscated items like ivory, animal skins and peacock feathers would be put on display.

There are going to be many other sections to keep the interests of visitors heightened. Some of them would be coins and precious stones section, customs heritage buildings gallery, narcotics gallery, gallery of equipment used for preventive operations, sports, cultural and literary gallery, ozone depleting substance section, central excise gallery and more.

To make it live, it is also proposed to set up a multi-media Gallery in the form of a soundproof auditorium with complete audio-visual infrastructure.

To make it happen faster, the Board has sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million) from the Welfare Fund but it is being proposed that for regular expenditure, the ministry of finance should make it a part of regular Budget of the Goa Commissionerate.

In fact, the governing body is also learnt to have discussed that once this commissionerate is split into two units, the Central Excise Commissioner would be the ex-officio director of the museum.

Since smooth running of this museum would require some professional hands, an advertisement is likely to be released for hiring a curator on contract basis.

Powered by