Pune Municipal Corporation To Reopen Planetarium After Four Years
Pune Municipal Corporation To Reopen Planetarium After Four Years
Pune: School students in Pune will once again have the opportunity to explore planets, stars, and space as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to reopen the planetarium at the e-learning school in Sahakar nagar. The facility, which had been non-operational for the past four years due to lack of maintenance, is now set to be revived.
PMC had initially spent ₹2 crore to establish this planetarium with the goal of educating students about astronomy. However, due to the absence of regular upkeep, the facility had been shut down. Now, the Standing Committee has approved the proposal to appoint an organization to restart and maintain the planetarium.
The revival of the planetarium will incur a total expenditure of ₹61.65 lakh over the next five years. A specific organization has been assigned the task of managing its operations. The facility was originally equipped with a FullDome Pro server and software, which had become outdated due to lack of upgrades.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, demands for reopening the planetarium had been raised. In response, the municipal corporation contacted the original company that had developed the planetarium. This company has now been officially assigned the responsibility of inspecting the equipment, software, and hardware, carrying out necessary repairs, designing new programs, and ensuring future maintenance.
As part of the revival plan, the company will create 27 new programs in Marathi, Hindi, and English. The first year of operation will require an expenditure of ₹33 lakh, while an additional ₹6.96 lakh per year will be allocated for maintenance over the next four years.
PMC plans to reopen the planetarium during the upcoming summer vacation, providing students with an interactive and engaging space education experience. Senior officials from the municipal corporation have confirmed this development.
