Telangana’s only science centre in limbo

If it were not for the slow decay and constant frustration, the state of affairs at the Regional Science Centre (RSC) in Hanamkonda could only be described as a failed experiment. The state’s only science centre is on the verge of shutting down, thanks to outdated exhibits, broken instruments, and a fund crunch – not negligence, not policy failure, just plain indifference, reports U Mahesh of The New Indian Express.

Spread over 14 acres in the heart of the tri-cities, the RSC was meant to be Telangana’s window to the wonders of science. But TNIE’s visit revealed a very different picture.

Of the 69 exhibits on physical science, biology, biodiversity, climate change, and more, 30 indoor installations are completely non-functional, and the rest barely operate. With a staff shortage and no one to maintain the instruments, the centre’s scientific promise is slowly fading, leaving students and science to wander through a hushed hall of broken gadgets and abandoned promise.

“This is what happens when funds don’t come and maintenance is ignored,” said E Rajini, in charge of RSC, pointing to exhibits gathering cobwebs. “We submitted a proposal for `10 crore to repair and renovate, but we are still waiting. Appeals have been made to MLA Naini Rajender Reddy, but nothing has happened yet.”

The centre, opened on October 21, 2015 at a cost of `6 crore by the Telangana State Council of Science and Technology, once hosted 69 exhibits on physical science, biology, biodiversity, climate change, and other topics. Today, most of them sit idle, their potential wasted.

Despite being built to spark curiosity and inspire children, the RSC now shows how infrastructure alone doesn’t make a science centre. Unless the government acts soon, students may continue learning about physics and space only from textbooks and the science centre will remain just another building collecting dust.