International doll museum in the doldrums

CHANDIGARH: It’s vacation time and scores of families are visiting the International Doll Museum in Sector 23. But they are returning disappointed, as its air conditioners do not function, a toy train – which is its main attraction -- is non-operational and nothing new has been added to the collection for long.
The employees said, “The train was operational till last year, but nowadays, it only acts as a showpiece.”
Ruing its neglected state, Maninder Pal Singh of Sector 22 said, “It is a beautiful museum with colorful dolls from different countries.And, its short stories on different religions enhance children’s knowledge. But, you cannot spend more than 10 to 15 minutes here as it’s quite hot inside. The authorities must make sure that its ACs function.”
“When I took my kid to the museum to show him the toy train, I was shocked to find it non-operational. The visit was disappointing,” said Rajit Kumar of Sector 33.
UT director of the museum Balbir Singh said he would look into the problems.
The museum was renovated at a cost of Rs 43.73 lakh in 2009. It has about 250 dolls from 30 countries on display. A special corner has souvenirs of Indian and international dolls.