VIJAYAWADA: Better days are in store for the planetarium located at Gandhi Hill here as the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is planning to ink an MoU with reputed Planetary Society to develop it.
City planetarium is the second oldest planetarium in the country after the one in Kolkata. It was established in 1971 and students from various parts of the state used to visit it and attend the daily special shows.
Gandhi Hill Society used to undertake the maintenance work at the planetarium and arrange special programmes during solar and lunar eclipses.
But it started to lose sheen around 2005 and was closed down in 2016 after the lens got damaged. The society which planned to import the lens could not do so.
Meanwhile, VMC took charge of Gandhi Hill development and established greenery and children's parks. Civic body held talks with BM Birla Science Center in Hyderabad seeking a facelift to the planetarium.
Venkateswara Reddy, executive engineer of VMC who is monitoring the development and renovation works of planetarium said, "We are planning to develop Gandhi Hill as a major tourism destination. Planetarium is a very important element in it. We had talks with some reputed science centres and will give a new shape to it soon. The commissioner is regularly monitoring and inspecting the works."
Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV), Vijayawada Science Society and other organisations have welcomed the move. "Children should be educated about space and planetary movements. Unfortunately, the planetarium in city remains shut for years. Hope VMC will restore it soon and offer a variety of activities related to science and technology," said M Satya, activist of JVV.
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