Ponnani: Months after its official inauguration, the Nila Museum remains locked to the public, leaving the building and its premises overrun by wild undergrowth and falling into ruin.

Inside the shuttered complex, sculptures and artistic exhibits languish without basic upkeep. While security guards have been posted outside the locked gates, no staff has been assigned to maintain the sprawling grounds or the landscape.

Benches across the compound have been swallowed by thick weeds, and the once-manicured courtyard is in a similar state of disarray. Many of the decorative lamp posts now stand buried in wild brush, while the garden - developed at the cost of lakhs - is withering away from utter neglect.

Worse still, authorities have yet to finalise an operational framework for how the museum will actually function.

Launched with grand promises of turning the Nila Museum into a premier cultural hub of Kerala, the multi-crore project has instead become a stark monument to administrative apathy and wasted public funds.

Conceived as a tribute to the region's legacy, the project was meant to introduce younger generations to the rich traditions of the 'Ponnani Kalari' and the riparian culture of the riverbank. Yet, having been hastily inaugurated in the rush of an election season, the museum remains far from complete.