Dinosaurium opened; CM stresses on S&T

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JULY 25. The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Tuesday said the Government would make efforts to promote science alongside technology.

Responding to concerns expressed by the Senior Deputy Director- General, Geological Survey of India, Dr. S.K. Mazumder, on science losing out the race with technology, he said science and technology should grow together. He, however, admitted that adequate focus was not being accorded to basic science while its modern applications such as Information Technology and Bio- technology were hogging the limelight.

Mr. Naidu was speaking after inaugurating "Dinosaurium", the new wing of the B.M. Birla Science Centre, which houses among other exhibits, a 160 million-year-old mounted dinosaur skeleton excavated in Adilabad district.

Seeking a proper preservation of the remnants from long forgotten period, Mr. Naidu referred to reports that appeared in the international media on dinosaur skeletons being stolen from Gujarat and smuggled to other countries.

The Birla Science Centre which had been serving as a research-cum-consultancy centre for scientists and research scholars should produce animation films on dinosaurs. Availability of such films at the museum would be of educative value and attract more visitors, he observed.

The Chief Minister also outlined the efforts launched by the State Government towards developing Hyderabad city as a Knowledge Capital.

Earlier, Mr. Chandrakant Birla, Head of the Birla Group, described the mounted dinosaur skeleton as a show piece of Indian Science. The assembling and mounting of the authentic dinosaur remains from Jurassic period reflected the expertise and years of hard work by the GSI team, he said.

In his address, the GSI Senior Deputy Director-General (Southern Region), Dr. S.K. Mazumder remarked, "The Kotasaurus Yamanpalliensis has at last found a worthy resting place. I hope children and students would be benefited by this exhibit," he said.

The Director, B.M. Birla Science Centre, Dr. B.G. Sidharth, and the Centre president, Mrs. Nirmala Birla, were also present. Apart from the mounted Dinosaur skeleton, the Dinosaurium has a collection of smaller fossils and their replicas contributed by the GSI, a nest with fossils of dinosaur eggs, marine shells and fossilised tree trunks.

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