Rare and priceless artefacts from the Patna Museum will soon be shifted to the new kid on the block - the Rs 500-crore Bihar Museum.

The losses for Patna Museum, which celebrated its centenary on Monday, include the over-2,300-year-old Didarganj Yakshi sculpture, which will move to the Historical Art Gallery on the second floor of the Bihar Museum.

The additional director (administration) of Bihar Museum, JPN Singh, confirmed that 80 per cent of Patna Museum's showpieces will be shifted. "Artefacts related to Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others will be shifted. The idea of the Bihar Museum is to showcase Bihar's contribution to the oldest civilisations of this country," said Singh.

Singh said a casket containing the holy relic of Lord Buddha, another prized possession of the Patna Museum, will be transferred to the upcoming Buddha Samyak Darshan Museum in Vaishali. "The relic was found during an excavation in Vaishali and people were demanding that it should be returned to its original place," said Singh.

Imtiaz Ahmad, former director of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, said Patna Museum was a storehouse of the state's heritage for the past 100 years. "If the government is serious about preserving the artefacts, it could have built an annexe building on the Patna Museum campus. There is ample space available," he said. "Instead of shifting artefacts, the government should think about proper preservation of the heritage properties. Recently I visited the Taj Mahal and a mud pack mixed with indigo was being used to clean the floor, which worked wonders. The government should adopt such traditional preservation methods. Besides, it should add security cover at the Patna Museum as the museum reported thefts in the past few years though many artefacts were recovered later."

Educationist N.K. Choudhary also opposed the government's decision: "Patna Museum has its own grandeur, unique history and architecture. If important artefacts like the Yakshi are taken away, what would be left in it?"

Former director of Patna Museum U.C. Dwivedi, however, felt supported the government move.

"The government needs to ensure that there is proper distribution of artefacts between the two museums and that both the museums grow together," he said.

Singh echoed Dwivedi, saying: "The artefacts are not going to the US. They are just going to be shifted to another museum in Patna which has more space so that they can be properly displayed."

A Patna Museum official said only 10 per cent of Patna Museum's 75,000 artefacts are on display.

"Instead of shifting major artefacts, the government should think about shifting the rest which are lying in the storehouse," the official said.